From the numerous calls and emails that I have received regarding temperature and wine, there seems to be a significant amount of confusion. The questions seem to be evenly divided between the correct temperature while you are making wine and whenyou are just storing it, so let me address those questions by specific time frames.

Fermentation - During this initial phase of winemaking, temperature is critical to the success of you wine. The yeast bacteria will only do its job if the temperature is between 60° and 90°. Some strains will work until 95°, but to be on the safe side, let's stay in the smaller range. Since the yeast will generate heat while it is in the primary phase, 10° or more, you should make sure that your starting temperature is in the range of 60° and 75°. This should give you ample margin for error.

The reason for the narrow range of temperatures is two-fold. If the must is too cold, the yeast will go to sleep and no fermentation will occur. If the must gets too hot, the yeast die and your fermentation will stop prematurely, leaving unfermented sugar and a lower alcohol content. Since my house is temperature controlled, I always ferment in the house and have not encountered a problem yet. If you do not have this luxury, you have other options. If the must is too cold, you can buy a heating belt for your fermenter. I don't carry them right now, but you can get one from grapestompers.com for $17.43. If the must is too hot, put the fermenter in a larger pail filled with ice water. Monitor the temperature and add more ice as needed.

Stabization and Fining - Once you have stabilized your wine, its time to bring the temperature down, it you can. Cooling it helps particles floating in the wine to form crystals and precipitate down to the bottom of the wine. As you rack the wine, these crystals are left behind with the rest of the lees (sediment). 40° to 50° is ideal, but unless you have a basement and live in a cold weather climate, this option is not available to most of us.

Since I have the luxury of a wine cellar that stays at a constant 57°, I move my stabilized carboys to the cellar while they clear. But alas, not all wine makers have a cellar or have one big enough for carboys. If you fall in this group, just keep the carboy in a room where the temperature range is around 75° and your wine should clear just fine. If its not clearing to your satisfaction, just rack it until it is clear. Be sure to let it sit for a week between rackings.

Aging - This temperatures during this time is more subjective than the other times, but the best rule of thumb has 2 components. First, don't ever let your wine too hot. Second, don't store your wine in a place where the temperature fluctuates a lot. Both of these events will ultimately ruin your wine. Obviously, the best place is a cellar, either one built into your house or a stand-alone unit. However, if you can just keep it at room temperature, your wine should be fine.

Serving - Most wine experts recomend serving white wines at a temperature below 55° which means you should chill it in a refrigerator before serving. White wines tend to be more acidic than reds and the chilling of the wine makes the acid taste significantly less noticable. I have also seen where experts suggest chilling red wines for ten minutes prior to serving. Once again, this helps soften the wine for your pallet.