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In a restaurant, it is unacceptable to serve a dish warm when it should be piping hot. Likewise, errors in wine temperature should also be avoided at all costs, because just a few degrees is all it takes to spoil the flavour of a good wine.

Generally speaking, white wines are generally drunk too cold, and red wines too warm. However, our palates are capable of detecting a difference of 1°C within a temperature range from 10 to 20°C. Hence the importance of taking extra care.

To understand the importance of temperature, try the following experiment. Take a red wine and a glass designed to bring out the aromas, for example the Soft model from the Open Up line. Fill two glasses a third full, up to the widest point, with the wine at 10°C in one, and 20°C in the other.

Without tasting or even touching the glass, you should be able to tell which wine is at the higher temperature simply by smelling it. Here are two clues to help you: above 20°C, the alcohol notes become very clear and the aromas are more concentrated.

In the next step of the experiment, you will observe that if it is served at 17-18°C, the wine (if it is a Bordeaux) is much more harmonious and its aromas are more pleasant. So you might consider buying a thermometer!

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What is the benefit of serving a white wine very cold? Can a red wine still be enjoyed at 20°C? To answer all these important questions, you need to understand how temperature influences our perception of basic flavours.

This can be demonstrated with sweetness and bitterness. Prepare two glasses of sweetened water, at around 10 and 20°C. Do the same with a bitter astringent preparation, tea for example. You will be surprised to find that the sugar solution seems to taste sweeter at 20°C, while the tea seems less harsh and astringent.

If we apply these findings to wine, they show that it is better to drink a sweet wine slightly chilled in order to counterbalance the sugar. And the more tannic a wine, the warmer it should be served. If you keep experimenting, you will find that cold neutralises flavours, while warmth emphasises the burning sensation of the alcohol.

In practice, most sommeliers agree on the following guidelines: serve very tannic red wines (Bordeaux) at around 18°C; less tannic red wines (Burgundy) at around 16°C; wines from Gamay and Beaujolais at around 15°C; rosé wines, sweet white wines, full-bodied white wines, and the big name champagnes, between 10 and 12°C; light and crisp white wines between 8 and 10°C.

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If you do not have temperature-controlled wine storage, here are a few tips to help you ensure that you serve both reds and whites at the proper temperature.

The first weapon is the ice-bucket. Handy for keeping whites and rosés chilled, it can also refresh some red wines that have become "flabby" on summer patios. In winter, fill it with warm water to gently warm up red wines that have just come out of the cellar. At the risk of shocking purists, this is far better than the intense, uneven heat from a radiator or fireplace.

The second weapon is the decanter. Warming up a wine in a bottle is a lengthy process. Decanting speeds things up, even more so if the decanter has been slightly warmed. Our Amphoria, Opening or Technica models, which provide a large contact area between the wine and the air, are ideal. For white wines and rosés, the Freshness decanter can be placed in an ice-bucket. Very ingenious and elegant!

For perfectionists, here are a few time guidelines. Allow three hours to chill a wine from 11 to 8°C in a fridge door. It takes the same time to go from 20 to 11°C. In a room at 20°C, allow three hours to warm up from 10 to 18°C. To go from 13 to 18°C, allow two hours.