Sommelier Secrets to Chilling Wine Fast
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.