Have you ever brought home a bottle of wine and hated the idea of waiting for it to chill? Perhaps you popped the cork anyway or maybe you decided to wait it out. How about when the power goes out or you’re nowhere near any kind of refrigerator? How can you chill your wine without a fridge? Well, here are some handy tips:
If you know that you have a habit of buying room temperature or warm wine on a whim, then you should definitely keep grapes in the freezer. Unlike ice, grapes don’t melt! Ice will melt and dilute your wine. Frozen grapes will chill your wine as they defrost and they will also add to the visual appeal of your glass!
Alternatively, you can decant your wine and fill a pot with the coldest water you can find. Add ice to the water if need be. Hold your decanted wine on the surface of the water and slowly swirl to allow all of the wine to come into contact with the cooled glass surface.
If you do have access to a fridge by you don’t have all the time in the world, you can resort to using your freezer. If you are only planning on drinking one or two glasses, then decant the wine first and place the decanter in the freezer. Cork the opened bottle and refrigerate just in case you want more later!
If you are out and enjoying a picnic only to find that your wine isn’t as chilled as it should be, you can look for a nearby river or dam. River water is generally quite crisp – particularly in mountainous areas. So just hold your bottle in the water for a while and you’ll be all set in no time!
Also remember that different types of wine have different ideal serving temperatures. When reading these guidelines, remember that room temperature refers to the temperature of your average wine cellar and not that of your living room in the middle of summer!