Well, here it is, my first guest's post on my wife's blog. It's about wine temperatures. I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to temperatures. It's not about being fussy or pedantic however. Serving wine at the right temperature is essential for enjoying your wine. A red wine at room temperature is usually far too warm; the wine loses its freshness and body and tastes insipid and alcoholic. 16-18 Celsius is usually best. A white wine straight from the fridge usually doesn't taste of anything at all; the cold kills the fragrance and flavour. Serving at 10-12 Celsius avoids this. These truths are both well-known and the first problem is far worse than the latter; a white wine served too cold has the opportunity of warming up in the glass, a red wine served too warm is irretrievably lost. At home it's up to you to have your wine at the right temperature. But what to do when you're in a restaurant?

Not every restaurant gets it right. In fact, all but the very best ones often get it wrong. White wines tend to be served very well chilled and are subsequently put on ice by the helpful staff to make sure they will never attain the right temperature. Reds often arrive too warm and are put on the table for your further enjoyment.

The white wine problem is easily solved: just boldly take the bottle from the ice bucket and put it on the table. If you're in a posh place, the bottle will often be inconveniently put out of your reach because the restaurant staff will want to top up your glasses. This makes things slightly more awkward; you will have to ask the staff to take the bottle from the bucket. This may raise an eyebrow, but usually the professional disapproval you are faced with is limited. It helps if you murmur something along the lines of: "it is perfect now, but I don't want it to become too cold." The staff tend to merely shrug their shoulders.

Red wine served too warm in a restaurant poses a far greater problem. Asking for a red wine to be (slightly) chilled may result in being treated by restaurant staff as a moron, a barbarian or a criminal or a combination of the three. It happened to me recently in a Michelin-starred restaurant, believe it or not. But do not be put off. The alternative, particularly in summer, is having mulled wine with your food - barring the spices. So stick to your guns!

The first step is to enlist the support of your table companion. Ask the waiter to pour him/her a bit of wine too, asking whether he/she also considers the wine 'ever so slightly' warm, too. Upon his/her agreement (there's two of you now!), you may ask for an ice bucket filled with cold tap water only. The water will usually be around 12 Celsius and will gradually bring the wine down to the right temperature. You will very likely end up with a bucket however that is filled with (some) ice too, but if the bucket is put on the table, that is no problem; you can just take the bottle out of the bucket and put it back in as required. If the bucket is put out of your reach, you will have to continue the 'ever so friendly' discussion with the staff. It is usually best to allow the bottle to become slightly too cold and then ask them to take it out of the dreaded bucket again. The wine will warm up again in the bottle and (more quickly) in the glass. It is not perfect, but unless you want to bring a thermometer to the restaurant (and look really pedantic - even I don't bring one!) it is the best you can do.

So good luck with your battles! They are well worth fighting. You are paying good money for your wine, so the wine might as well be good - and at the right temperature. And if you go to a restaurant more often, they will get used to your idiosyncratic behaviour. They might even learn something, heaven forbid!

Cheers, Xavier