Sommelier Secrets to Chilling Wine Fast

a large bucket of ice with several wine bottles in it

Keep this handy for those warm wine emergencies.

by Erin Henderson

We drink a lot of rosé at my house. All year round, there is always at least one bottle in the fridge. We almost always have rosé for apèro, often with lunch, and when the pairing calls for it, with dinner.
 
So we have a rule: whoever takes the bottle out of the fridge, must replace it with one from the (room temperature) stock. (We also buy rosé by the case, but that’s a story for another blog. Like this one.)

This one-out-one-in method ensures we always have a chilled bottle ready to go. Except when someone forgets the rule. (They have since been appropriately shamed.)
 
Should you also find yourself in a situation where someone has completely snafued the chilled-wine-plan-of-action, there are a few fail-safes employed by many a sommelier. And these are them.

Related: The Best Serving Temperatures for Wine
Ice Bucket

Seems obvious, but so many people do it wrong. Don't just fill a bucket with ice and expect icy miracles. You need a combo of ice and water. 
 
Put your bottle in a bucket – fancy wine receptacle or kids’ sand pail, doesn’t matter – and fill half the bucket with water. Pour ice into the water up to the neck of the bottle.

By submerging a bottle of wine in a 50/50 mix of ice and water, your warm reds will get to their more comfortable drinking temperature in about five minutes. For whites, leave it in there for about 15-20 minutes.
 
For the love of science, do not put your wine in the freezer. It will take about an hour to get your white wine to the right temperature. Who has time for that?

Ice Cubes

Alright, everyone just calm down.
 
Yes, I’m on Team Ice Cubes.

With a caveat.
 
I use a large ice cube (ideally), swirl it in my glass, and remove it after about 10 seconds. The large size of the ice cube and small volume of wine means the ice won’t melt significantly, but just have enough interaction to chill what’s in the glass.

Frozen Wine

This is a fun one if you have left over wine, which never really happens around here, so I don’t get to use it much. But if I did, I would.
 
In the south of France, it’s common to order wine “piscine.” This is where the same wine as what you’re drinking has been frozen into ice cubes and is floated in your glass. This method keeps the wine cold in the humid summers and, as it melts, tops up your drink.

Frozen Fruit

Grapes, berries, melon et al. make for pretty presentations whilst keeping your wine cool. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it: in southern Italy floating peach slices in hearty reds is a common way to enjoy both the wine and the fruit.

Small Pours

This sounds counter intuitive, I know, but hear me out.
 
Pouring your glass to the brim will only result in taking longer to finish the wine. By the time it takes to get to the bottom, the wine temperature has increased significantly, resulting in a something that tastes warm, lifeless, sour, and dull.
 
Trust me: it’s better to leave your wine in the bottle and enjoy small pours (3-4 oz) with frequent top-ups. Your wine will stay temperature appropriate, lively, and fresh.

Hear From Real People!

I had the pleasure of attending the Oceania Cruise event where you conducted a wine pairing. I have to say that your wine and food pairing made a typically ho hum travel information night, spectacular! I have never done a wine pairing. I was amazed at how food interacted with the wines.
You and your team were an absolute pleasure to work with! From the get go, you were very flexible with our needs, communicated in a timely manner, and tailored your services to be exactly what we asked for.
Everything was perfect and very personalized! We still talk about experience and how nice it was. Definitely memories our family will treasure forever.
Thank you very much for your services. Everyone had a fantastic time and loved everything! Thank you again for a successful event and making me look oh so good.
[They] quickly engaged our group with our wine themed engagement party. Guests were lined up all evening for the experience. [They] very willing to involve guests in tasting discussion. We are all a little more wine savvy - thank you The Wine Sisters
Erin did a fantastic job with our group. We all really enjoyed the day. I have already recommended The Wine Sisters for my company events, as it was such a great experience for us.
I wanted to thank you again for last night. Everyone had a great time, and I received a lot of compliments, on your behalf. You struck a great balance between being informational and entertaining. 10 out of 10.
You were great and hilarious, and made everyone feel comfortable. Appreciate your time with me and helping pull this event together.
The Wine Sisters are professional and flexible to attend to client needs. They’re able to provide 'one stop shop for events.
Everybody had a ton of fun and we very much see this structure as a template we can use with clients and friends in the future.

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