If you have ever come to one of my wine classes at The Chopping Block, you know that I insist on wine being served at the right temperature, a temperature where the flavors and aromas can shine.
On a recent trip through Southern France, my colleague and I went into every wine shop we could find. We sought out wines we had never tasted, wines we would not find back in Chicago. We came out of each wine store with several bottles, the car gradually becoming a wine caravan. Bliss for wine lovers!
But traveling does not make it easy to serve wine at the right temperature. Checking into a hotel room or an apartment in the afternoon makes it imperative to quick chill the wine for aperitif. And we fully embraced the art of the aperitif, enjoying wine by the sea, on the beach, in lavender fields.
So, I broke my own rule: I put white wines and rosés in the freezer to chill them more quickly. If you have ever asked me whether this is a good way to chill wine quickly, I have told you its not. It shocks the wine and can overchill it. But possibly the biggest danger is that you can forget the wine in the freezer. And this was my sad mistake.
We arrived in Cannes on a hot evening, tired and thirsty. I put two bottles in the freezer while we were taking showers: a lovely rosé and a minerally white, a wine that captured my heart with its stony flavors and salinity. I wanted to retaste it with some octopus salad or marinated anchovies.
That night, we drank the crisp aromatic rosé and reminisced about the winery we had just visited where we discovered the wine. And my white languished in the freezer, my tired brain forgetting to transfer it to the fridge. The next day, my heart almost broke when I discovered the wine had frozen and expanded so much the cork was ejected from the bottle. Cannes was calling with its brilliant sunshine and the abundance of seafood. But my wine was gone…
Don’t repeat my mistake. To quickly chill wine, put some ice in a bucket and add enough water to submerge most of the bottle. The water not only melts the ice but also ensures that more of the surface of the bottle is touched by icy water, which helps the wine cool.
Photo Credit: François Millo
Whites and rosés are best served at 45 to 55F, when all their aromas have a chance to show. In the summer, it’s okay to have whites or rosés slightly overchilled as the temperature rises quickly once you pour a glass. And if the red is the temperature of your hand when you touch the bottle, put that bottle in the ice bath too for a couple of minutes. Reds are best served at 55 to 65F. The lighter the red, the lower the temperature should be.
So this summer, keep the freezer for ice cream and ice cubes and enjoy your wines at their best by using this method to chill wine properly.
Get more tips for drinking wine in my upcoming class The Building Blocks of Wine: What's in a Sip? being offered at Lincoln Square in July and August.