Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “castle temperature” when it comes to serving wine, or maybe you haven’t. The truth is, there is an optimal temperature for wine when it is poured, and Kendall-Jackson Avant Chardonnay isn’t any different.

Look at it this way: if most red wine is best served around 60 degrees and crisp, high acid wine is most delish at 50 degrees, then you can bet that Avant, which is crisp, but has plenty of ripe, mouth filling fruit, will fall somewhere in between—around 55 degrees.

But you don’t have a thermometer hanging around in your kitchen, do you? Me neither. So a good rule of thumb is to pop Kendall-Jackson Avant Chardonnay into the fridge 30 minutes before you want to serve it. If you forget and it’s is still sitting on the counter when the magical hour arrives, don’t panic. Put the wine into the freezer for ten minutes — and this time tie a string to your finger as a reminder.

To tell the truth, with all that bright fruit, Avant Chardonnay makes for a tasty adult slushy, but it’s probably not what you were thinking of in terms of a glass of wine. (OK, that was a little joke…)

You can also use an ice bucket to chill your wine. Pile a good amount of ice into a bucket or into a small sink and add cold water. The water serves as a conduit, chilling the wine faster than the ice would itself. After fifteen minutes in an ice bath Avant should be ready to drink.

Bottom line: what you’re looking for is a distinctly cold temperature, but not so frigid that it mutes the fruit of the wine. With some experience you’ll learn to identify the right temperature for the wines you love simply by touching the outside of the bottle. With the Kendall-Jackson Avant, you want the bottle to be quite cold to the touch, but not even close to freezing. Remember: wine is alive, and it will emerge and unfold out of the glass as it warms up.