Need a glass of vino stat, but don’t have the time or patience to wait for that bottle to chill in the fridge? No worries, you don’t have to!
Here are three ways to chill a bottle of wine in the time it takes you to get out of your work clothes and into those pajama bottoms:
1. Add salt
You probably already know that putting wine in a bucket of ice and cold water, rather than just ice, will chill your vino faster. But did you know that adding salt to the mix further speeds up the cooling time? Salt reduces the freezing point of water and allows it to become colder without turning into ice, which in turn chills your wine more quickly.
2. Give it a spin
If even the water/ice/salt method isn’t chilling your Pinot Grigio fast enough, keep the bucket nearby and gently spin the wine bottle in the ice water every couple minutes. Spinning the bottle moves around the contents inside, allowing more wine to come into contact with the cold glass, and chilling it faster.
Beware: This method works best for non-sparkling wines; if you attempt this with Champagne you’ll be in for a shock when you pop open the bottle!
3. Wet it down
Putting wine in the freezer will chill it pretty quickly, but to speed up the process, wet a clean tea towel and wrap it around the wine bottle before you pop it in. The dampness conducts and holds in cold better, and having the icy cold towel pressed against the bottle ensures that the entire surface of the bottle is being chilled.
Pour and ENJOY!
