This sauvignon blanc is best served around 55 degrees

Many drinks taste a little different at different temperatures, but wine is unusually temperature-sensitive. The dominant features of wine’s aroma and flavor are volatile components, like alcohol and esters, whose rate of evaporation will speed up or slow down with even a few degrees of temperature change. Wines will smell and taste stronger when they are warm and milder when they are cool. Tactile sensations are affected by temperature as well. Wines seem lighter when chilled than they do at room temperature. For red wines, mouth-drying tannins become exaggerated and unpleasant when served straight from the fridge. This explains why only red wines are served at room temperature, while every other style, from white and rosé to sparkling or dessert wine, is served chilled.

White wines do taste their best chilled, but it’s easy to overdo it. Too much of a chill anesthetizes our senses of smell and taste, so wine served straight from the fridge at 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit can seem a tad bland until it warms up a little. Pulling your white wines out of the refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes before you’re ready to drink them works well, allowing the wine to warm into the 50s or 60s where they taste their best. This particular sauvignon blanc from New Zealand features a temperature sensitive label that helps wine lovers to zero in on the precise temperature recommended by the winemakers for its enjoyment. When the wine is chilling, an indicator on the label turns blue when the bottle reaches 13 degrees Celsius or 55 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s where the full impact of this wine’s tart, dry flavors of citrus and guava flavors really shine.

$11.99; 12.5% alcohol

PLCB Item #9602

Sale price through 10/30 – regularly $14.99

Also available at:

Wine Warehouse in Voorhees, NJ and Mantua, NJ - $11.98

Kreston Wine & Spirits in Wilmington, DE, - $11.99

Joe Canal’s in Lawrenceville, NJ - $11.99