When it comes to enjoying a glass of wine, the temperature at which it is served can significantly impact its taste and aroma.
Serving wine at the right temperature is of vital importance if you are going to get the most out of your wine and many wine enthusiasts wouldn’t consider drinking wine unless it is chilled correctly.
However, chilling wine can take time. If the wine has been sitting at room temperature, it can take hours for it to reach its optimum temperature. Sometimes, we don’t have those hours to spare and need our wine to chill more quickly.
Thankfully, there are a few methods you can use to make your wine chill more quickly than simply putting it in the fridge. In this article, we will look at several methods to make your wine chill fast.
Whether you’re hosting a spontaneous gathering or simply craving a refreshing glass of wine after a long day, learn how to get a glass of chilled wine in your hand without having to wait for hours!
Let’s get started.
1. Chill In Salt Water
One of the quickest ways to chill a bottle of wine is to use an ice bucket. You can use a proper wine chiller bucket for this or any similar item. Simply fill the bucket with ice water and place your unopened bottle of wine into the bucket to chill it quickly.
To make your bottle chill even more rapidly, there is one secret ingredient that you should add to the ice water. All you need to do is add a little salt to the water and your bottle will reach the desired temperature more quickly!
Ice works to bring down the temperature of the water and this will in turn chill your bottle more quickly than plain water alone would.
2. Use The Freezer
Although this method is very effective, it can also be catastrophic if you don’t pay attention! You can place your bottle of wine into the freezer so that the subzero temperatures will quickly chill it.
However, you must remember to remove your bottle after around 30-40 minutes. Like all liquids, wine will expand as it freezes and this expansion puts stress on the wine bottle.
Too much stress can result in your bottle shattering and you’ll not only lose your wine but will have a big mess to clean up.
If you’re the kind to lose track of time, set an alarm so that you will remember to remove your wine bottle from the freezer before it explodes.
3. Use The Freezer And A Towel
You can make this freezer method even faster by using a damp towel. All you need to do is dampen a towel and wrap it around the bottle. Then place the towel-wrapped bottle in the freezer.
The water in the towel will rapidly freeze and will in turn chill the wine bottle faster. As with our last tip, make sure that you don’t leave the bottle in the freezer for too long as the wine will still have the potential to freeze and break the bottle.
You may find when you try to remove the towel from the bottle that it has frozen solid and can’t be easily removed. You can either wait for the towel to warm a little and the ice to melt or you can use a little warm water to remove it.
4. Frozen Grapes
Ice cubes aren’t typically used in wine because as the ice cubes melt, the water they produce begins to dilute the wine and will negatively affect the flavor. You can get around this by using frozen grapes instead!
Frozen grapes work in the same way as ice cubes do and will chill your glass of wine. The only difference is that as they thaw, they won’t introduce a lot of water into your wine and shouldn’t affect the flavor in any noticeable way.
5. Used Metal Ice Cubes
Metal ice cubes are often used to chill neat spirits such as whiskey. They work in a similar way to frozen grapes as they are used as stand-ins for regular ice cubes made out of water.
You can buy cubes that are solid metal or ones that have a solid exterior and gel inside. Either way, they’re not made out of water and won’t dilute your drink.
All you need to do is chill them before use and then drop them into your wine glass. They will chill your wine without affecting the taste in any way.
The best part about these cubes is that they are completely reusable, so as soon as your glass is empty, wash them and put them back in the freezer.
6. Use A Chilled Spout
There are many fun accessories that you can buy for wine bottles that are also very useful. One of the best examples of this is the chilled spout.
This is an accessory that is placed on the top of your wine bottle and when you pour your wine, it flows through the spout. Inside the spout is a cartridge that works to chill your wine as it flows through the spout.
The cartridge needs to be chilled in the freezer before use and can be reused.
7. Use A Corksicle
Corksicles are another fun and useful accessory! They’re a long piece of stainless steel that can be chilled and then inserted into your wine bottle.
The great thing about corksicles is that they act as both a bottle stopper and a spout at the same time. They will prevent your wine from oxidizing while also keeping it cool.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we introduce seven different methods to chill your wine fast. Some of the methods in this article use equipment that you’re sure to have in your kitchen already whereas others require items you might need to buy.
I can offer you articles and information about wine from a seasoned sommelier, and now a winemaker too! I hope that you enjoy some of our articles, and start thinking outside of the box when it comes to wine.
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