Red Wine FAQ

What is the best tasting red table wine?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" - an old proverb that rings true when looking for the best tasting red wine for yourself or as a gift. What may be somebody’s favourite red wine of all time, may in fact, be not to your liking at all.

Many factors will influence your enjoyment of a good glass of red wine; the time of the day the wine was consumed, the company in which the wine was shared, the food that was enjoyed along with the wine and even the type of glassware the wine was served in. Many winemakers and wine critics tend to taste wine late in the morning when it is felt that the taste receptors are at their peak and are able to decipher the many different flavours and aromas found in a glass of wine. While outside of the wine trade, wines are mostly consumed of an evening over a meal or in social situations.

The mood you are in when drinking wine will also greatly affect the experience and the taste of a wine. Often holiday travellers speak of having a different experience after trying a wine they enjoyed on holidays once they were back home. Food matching is also a major contributor to the taste. The correct pairing of food and wine can lead to an explosion of great flavours that will remain in your memory for many years, and vice versa, the incorrect pairing can severely dampen the flavour of both the food and the wine in question.

What is the best temperature to serve red wine?

Ideally, red wine should be consumed at ‘room temperature’. This is when the flavours and aromas are best expressed. Unfortunately, room temperature can vary quite dramatically from country to country, city to city and even room to room. It is widely thought that most red wines are consumed at a temperature that is in fact too high to best express the flavours held within. As a general rule, the heavier reds, like Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon should be enjoyed between 17°C - 20°C, medium bodied reds like Tempranillo and Grenache between 15°C - 17°C and light reds like Pinot Noir and Beaujolais between 12°C - 15°C.