The Secret to Serving Perfect Chardonnay: 2010 Helix Chardonnay
Chardonnay is such a beloved and standard varietal. Chardonnays from brands like Rambauer and Kendall Jackson have become the drink of choice for many white wine lovers, particularly for women. It’s easy to love this grape, a good Chardonnay produces wine with such smooth drinkability. Furthermore, there are many styles of Chardonnay, leaving room for a variety of preferences and allowing for exploration. Despite the popularity of this varietal, many drinkers make a fundamental mistake that holds the wine back from its true potential. It’s funny how something so small can make such an impact upon the flavors of a wine.
The most common mistake amongst Chardonnay drinkers is serving the wine at the wrong temperature. In general, many people tend to over-chill their white wines, leading to a refreshing wine with masked flavors and bouquets (a good tip if your wine isn’t of very good quality). On the flip side, white wines served too warm will taste alcoholic and flabby. A good general rule of thumb for wine chilling coms from Ursula Hermacinski, the former Christie’s wine auctioneer, who said “Twenty minutes before dinner, you take the white wine out of the fridge, and put the red wine in.”
For those of you that would like to get a little more specific, here’s a little more detail. Chardonnay, and other full-bodied, high quality whites, taste better at the classic cellar temperature, which is 55 degrees. In order to mimic the cellar temperature in your own home (unless you have your own handy humid, cool underground cellar), stick Chardonnay in your fridge an hour and a half before serving, and pull it out 20 minutes before serving.
But don’t take our word for it, do a little experimenting of your own! There is no better way to discover the importance of wine temperature than to try it for yourself. First, order a bottle of the 2010 Helix Chardonnay here, then chill your wine for an hour and a half. Pull the wine from the fridge and immediately pour yourself a taste. Take some time to smell the aromas and really notice the flavors. Put that same glass back in the refrigerator and use it as a comparison glass, keep the rest of the bottle out to warm up. Wait another 10 minutes or so and then try a glass from the bottle as it warms back up to room temperature, comparing it to the chilled glass in the fridge. Repeat as often as you want! This little exercise will teach you the importance of properly chilled wine, and let you discover your favorite temperature.
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