Fastest Way to Chill a Wine
Need a wine chilled fast, what would you choose? Put it in the fridge, in the freezer, or in an ice-bucket?
Intuitively, one may go for the freezer thinking it has the lowest temperature and thus must be the fastest way to chill a wine.
Reality is quite the different. Ice-bucket is more effective as water is a better thermal conductor than convention air (fridge and freezer).
Expert Tips on How to Chill a Wine Quickly:
1. The best way is to fill an ice bucket with ice. Add water and salt. As mentioned earlier, water is an effective conductor. Adding salt lowers the melting point, melting the ice faster and enabling a more rapid chilling process. This method can chill a room temperature bottle in 15 minutes!
2. If an ice bucket is not available and you are in a rush, then freezer chilling would be the second best method. Many recommend wrapping the bottle in a damp cloth, scientifically thinking the water evaporation in the dry freezer would cool the wine faster. However test results are inconsistent, probably due to the different type of cloth used. Too thick, the cloth will become an impediment more than a conductor.
Caution has to be exercised when chilling a wine in the freezer. If chill too long, tartaric acid crystals may form (they are not harmful, just not pleasant to look at and taste). Worse, the wine could freeze and the cork can get pushed out. Avoid freezing a wine more than 20 minutes.
3. If you have time, then fridge chilling is preferred. It takes the longest, can be one to two hours. But then temperature fluctuation is lower compared to that of a freezer, thus a friendlier environment for the wine - Less temperature fluctuation shock.
4. There are handy gadgets such as an ice-jacket or ice-sleeve. These frozen sleeves can keep a chilled bottle cool throughout dinner or during transport.
Final tips...
Each wine has its optimal serving temperature. Avoid chilling wine too cold. And if a bottle is too hot (yes, even if red wine), you can always chill it to reach the perfect temperature!
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