+1
Pretty much this. In terms of service, it’s likely the most important thing. Very simply, over or under a certain temperature what you’re drinking is almost irrelevant. Once you get to 68-70+F you’re basically losing all the interest and complexity in the wine. Not much of a problem there if you’re drinking a very simple wine and I find that lower alcohol wines tend to handle warmer temperatures better, but barring a picnic environment there’s really no reason to compromise with such a fundamental part of wine appreciation.
Temp is crucial, especially with more nuanced wines.
So much of the wine drinking public (non- geeks) write off whites for not being serious, for being simple, and as unable to reach the heights of reds- I think a lot (not all) is based on serving the wines at the wrong temp and not giving them the time to open up.
Very. I often get my wines pretty cool before I drink them at home or schlep them out, allowing me to let them adjust upwards into the sweet spot. I feel like if the winery took all the care and pride to make them great, then I owe it to myself and those with me to serve the wine at an ideal temp.
Very
I always heard that Europeans believed that reds in America were universally served too warm, and whites too cold.
I know she is not the most insightful writer, but Lettie Teague did a decent job on an article investigating why white wines are served cooler than red wine.
The serving temp can make or break a good bottle, period.
Question: do any of you use one of those electric thingamajigs that cradle the bottle at a specified temperature? Seems like a good idea though I wonder if they are just another of the multitude of useless wine gadgets on the market.
This is my ideal range too. Much rather have a wine served too cold than too warm, since You can always warm a glass by holding it.
Close to being the most important thing to me for a true appreciation of whatever it is that I’m drinking.
Very important.
Like others, I’ll ask for a too-warm red to be put on ice.
Sometimes a short stay in the fridge can tighten up a slightly flabby low acid wine, while warming the bowl of the glass with my hands can soften up some wines that are showing a bit thin and acidic.
Very! 55-60 is a must. (South Florida)
Extremely important to me; it’s an old story but when the English suggested serving reds at room temperature they were not talking about climate control. I was at The Family Winemakers event Sunday. It was a hot day but it was in an air conditioned venue (Palace Hotel) yet some of the wines were too warm for me.
Serving temp is huge, could be the most important thing a collector/consumer can control that’s most frequently not executed properly.
Very. When I lived in Chicago room temperature reds didn’t bother me at all. Now that I’m in New Orleans, “room temperature” in the summer is more like 74-76. Reds served at that temperature make me wince.
So if we’re about to pop a daily drinker, I’ll throw it in the fridge for a bit to chill it down. This works pretty well, unless my wife and I are casually sharing an entire bottle. Then I’ll have to pop at back in the fridge at some point to chill it back down a bit.
Serving Temperature is extremely important, and not just for wine either. I may actually pay more attention to serving temp for beer than I do wine.
ditto. Though like everything else in this fascination, there can be wide ranges depending on style, setting, and food.
English advice on the temperature at which to serve alcohol is already suspect, given their preference for warmish beer.
I’ll jump on here and agree with the masses 
As a wine producer, I try to control this as much as I can when I pour my wines for others. For instance, I try to never chill my roussanne, for to me, the variety shows best at ‘room temperature’.
Consumers have certainly been ‘brainwashed’ from years and years of the industry saying, and consumers agreeing, that whites should always be served really chilled and reds never so. Therefore, that is what they are used to and expect. To change this behavior overall is really and truly a challenge.
And sometimes wine geeks come across as ‘pompous’ when we get too concerned about these things around others. I’ve seen it and will continue to. ‘This wine needs to be chilled down another 2-3 degrees to be ‘optimized’’ or ‘I can’t believe you would serve that white that cold.’
As knowledgeable wine folks, we need to lead by example - but not be up tight about it. SHOW folks first hand what temperature does to wine - that’s what I do. I’ll have two glasses - one with a white that is really cold and one that has gotten closer to the temp I prefer it at. The consumer can then understand why temps are important.
Then they will start understanding the concept better . . .
Larry, I like your strategy, and will try it. But, outside of a tasting room, I’m pretty sure it will still come across as geeky, pompous, or both.
Brady,
It somewhat depends upon ‘the delivery’ . . . I will do this in a restaurant setting with non-geeks as well. I’ll order a white that I know will be too cold, pour a glass, and then put the bottle back into the ice. I’ll pour everyone glasses 5-10 minutes later, and have them compare with the glass that I left out . . .
Cheers.