Guides
Serving, decanting and storing wine
How long open wine lasts, when to decant and for how long, serving temperatures by style, how long bottles keep, how to store them, and how to tell a faulty bottle.
Where this comes from
WSET-level guidance written in our own words for the knowledge base that also drives the taste profiles and pairings. Ranges are deliberate: a cool room and a fridge are different places.
6
tables
16
styles covered
Serving temperature
Rosé
7–10 °C
Sparkling
6–8 °C
Sweet and dessert wines
6–8 °C
Orange and skin-contact whites
10–13 °C
Off-dry whites
7–10 °C
Aromatic whites
7–10 °C
Crisp, dry whites
6–9 °C
Light, fresh reds
12–15 °C
Rich, smooth reds
16–18 °C
Juicy, fruity reds
14–16 °C
Rich, round whites
10–13 °C
Medium, savoury reds
15–17 °C
Full, structured reds
16–18 °C
fortified dry (Fino, Manzanilla)
6–8 °C
fortified sweet (Ruby, Vintage Port, PX)
14–18 °C
fortified oxidative (Amontillado, Oloroso, Tawny)
12–14 °C
Fridge at the left, a modern room is warmer than the right-hand end. Full reds at 16–18 °C, not “room temperature”.
| Style | Serve at |
|---|---|
| Rosé | 7–10 °C |
| Sparkling | 6–8 °C |
| Sweet and dessert wines | 6–8 °C |
| Orange and skin-contact whites | 10–13 °C |
| Off-dry whites | 7–10 °C |
| Aromatic whites | 7–10 °C |
| Crisp, dry whites | 6–9 °C |
| Light, fresh reds | 12–15 °C |
| Rich, smooth reds | 16–18 °C |
| Juicy, fruity reds | 14–16 °C |
| Rich, round whites | 10–13 °C |
| Medium, savoury reds | 15–17 °C |
| Full, structured reds | 16–18 °C |
| fortified dry (Fino, Manzanilla) | 6–8 °C |
| fortified sweet (Ruby, Vintage Port, PX) | 14–18 °C |
| fortified oxidative (Amontillado, Oloroso, Tawny) | 12–14 °C |
20 minutes in the fridge for a red that is too warm; 20 minutes out of the fridge for a white that is too cold.
Decanting
Two reasons to decant: aerate young, tannic or reductive wines so they open up; separate sediment from old reds and unfiltered wines (Vintage Port, Crusted Port, old Bordeaux, Barolo).
| Wine | How long | Note |
|---|---|---|
| young full_structured_red (Barolo, Bordeaux, Napa Cabernet, Northern Rhône, Ribera) | 60–120 min | |
| young rich_smooth_red (Amarone, Shiraz, Malbec reserve, Priorat) | 30–60 min | |
| medium reds (Chianti, Rioja Reserva, Burgundy village) | 0–30 min | optional; a splash decant |
| light reds, most whites, rosé, sparkling | no need | no need; open 15–30 min ahead at most |
| old red (15+ years) or Vintage Port | 0–30 min | decant gently off the sediment just before serving; old wines fade fast in air |
| reductive whites or natural wines with a struck-match note | 15–30 min | a swirl or splash decant clears it; oxidation never clears |
| LBV Port (filtered), Tawny, Sherry | no need |
How long wine keeps once open
| Style | Days |
|---|---|
| Sparkling | 1–2 |
| Tawny Port | 30–60 |
| Sweet and dessert wines | 7–21 |
| Vintage Port | 2–5 |
| Ruby / LBV Port | 14–30 |
| Crisp, dry whites | 3–5 |
| Light, fresh reds | 2–3 |
| Rich, round whites | 2–4 |
| Fino / Manzanilla | 3–7 |
| Full, structured reds | 3–5 |
| Amontillado / Oloroso | 30–90 |
- refrigerate everything once open, including reds
- a vacuum stopper or inert gas roughly doubles these
- half-full bottles go faster than full ones
How long wine keeps unopened
| Style | Years from vintage |
|---|---|
| Rosé | 0–2 |
| Vintage Port | 15–50 |
| sparkling NV | 0–3 |
| Tawny / Sherry | ready on release; do not age |
| Aromatic whites | 0–4 |
| Crisp, dry whites | 0–3 |
| Light, fresh reds | 0–5 |
| Rich, smooth reds | 2–12 |
| Juicy, fruity reds | 0–5 |
| Rich, round whites | 1–8 |
| vintage Champagne | 3–20 |
| Medium, savoury reds | 2–10 |
| Full, structured reds | 5–25 |
| sweet wine (botrytis) | 3–40 |
| Riesling / Chenin / Sémillon (top) | 3–25 |
What makes a wine age: high acidity, high tannin, high sugar, high alcohol (fortified), concentration, good closure and storage.
Storage
Ideal: 10–15 °C, 60–80% humidity, dark, on its side for cork, any way for screwcap. Common mistakes: kitchen (warm and bright); top of the fridge (vibration, heat); temperature swings do more harm than a steady 18°C.
Is it faulty?
| Fault | Smells like | Fixable? |
|---|---|---|
| cork taint (TCA) | damp cardboard, wet dog; fruit muted | false |
| oxidation | bruised apple, sherry; browning | false |
| reduction | struck match, boiled cabbage, drains | often; air it |
| volatile acidity | vinegar, nail varnish | false |
| Brettanomyces | farmyard, plaster, band-aid | false — a little is style in some Rhône and Rioja |
| heat damage | cooked, jammy, flat; cork pushed up | false |
| tartrate crystals | none; harmless glassy crystals | not a fault |
Closures
- screwcap: reliable, no cork taint, slow oxygen ingress; ages wine more slowly; not a quality signal either way
- synthetic: fine for wines drunk within 2 years
- natural cork: traditional; 1–3% risk of TCA (cork taint: damp cardboard)
- technical / DIAM: treated cork, near-zero taint