Pro Tips & Wine Bargains in B.C. #4 - February Deals Part 2

Pro Tip - Two Ways To Chill Wine Quickly - One Safe & One A Bit Chancy + A Few Gadgets

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Pro Wine Tip

Two Ways To Chill Wine Quickly - One Safe and One A Little Bit Chancy

Your guests are on the way, the chicken is in the oven, the foccacia is proofing and everything is under control...oops forgot to chill the wine. You have maybe half an hour, now what?

Many wine related subjects involve opinion, taste and other factors where perhaps only time will tell but chilling wine quickly is pretty straight forward - it's all physics.  There still seem to be competing theories though about how best to get wines that need to be chilled  i.e. white, sparkling or Rosé, down to serving temperature.

You have two basic methods near at hand, to achieve this kind of temperature drop when you are short of time - an ice bucket or your freezer.

Ice Bucket Method - Safe, Sure, Predictable and It Looks Good on the Table

This is the most obvious and familiar way to chill your wine of course. If you don't have an ice bucket, you should probably get one to have around if you drink chilled wine from time to time.

It doesn't matter whether it is metal, plastic or glass. In a pinch, you can use a larger sturdy flower vase, a small waste basket, a large stockpot or your bathroom sink. It just needs to be proportioned so that you can get the bottle up to its neck in ice water and small enough that you don't need four bags of ice to create icy water.

That said, with physics in mind, you do still need enough ice to chill down the water and the wine.  It depends on the size your ice bucket of course but one tray of ice cubes is not going to get the job done.  You will need the equivalent of three or four ice cube trays to make this work effectively. So, if you have a built in ice maker in your fridge with a bin for collecting the ice, you should be all set. If not, then you will need to have that much ice on hand. It helps if you can stay prepared.

I use five ice cube trays and a durable plastic bin that stays in the freezer and holds five ice cube trays worth. I try to keep both the bin and the trays full of ice because if I don't really have time to chill the wine, I sure don't have time to go to the store and get a bag of ice.

But note, it needs to be ice + water. Just putting the wine bottle in the bottom of an ice bucket and adding ice cubes is not going to work as quickly. That's because water is a better conductor than air. Adding water to the ice will lower the wine's temperature much more quickly as the water will be touching the entire surface area of the submerged bottle. 

If you go out and buy an ice bucket, an insulated one is probably more practical as the ice melts more slowly.  There are some beautiful, elegant models to be had especially in glass but if you just want something inexpensive and practical, you can get a galvanized pail with a handle (very useful for moving it around from kitchen to table or out to the patio) in a size that will work as an ice bucket. They are available online or from Canadian Tire, Home Hardware etc.. But just pick a style you like. Here are some:

To ice your wines down, it’s helpful to do things in this order. First place bottle in bucket, then add ice up to the top and then add enough water to submerge the bottle as much as possible but not so high that you couldn't move the bucket without spilling. If you have two bottles requiring chilling but only a one bottle sized bucket, just do your best to get the bottoms of both bottles in the ice water.

Lastly, as the bottle(s) are chilling, give them a little twist or wiggle now and then while still in the ice water. This keeps the coldest water next to the surface of the bottle. The more the ice water circulates, the quicker the wine will chill.

For one bottle, twenty-five minutes in the ice bucket should do the trick.

For wines that come in especially tall bottles (German, Alsatian, some rosés and sparklings) the top part of the bottle may be above the ice water. If left like this, that wine will remain close to room temperature and the first pour from the bottle will therefore be too warm.  To adjust for this, turn the bottle upside down in bucket for the last few minutes or just before you open and serve.

One last thing, if you are bringing the ice bucket from your kitchen counter to your lovely, inlaid, wooden dining table, you might want to put a couple of layers of cloths under the bucket first. Due to the condensation that will form on the outside of the bucket, and as it runs down the sides, it can pool at the bottom. You aren't the only one who has been in a cold sweat.

Freezer Method

The second method works just as well, does not require having sufficient ice or an ice bucket but it is a little riskier. All you have to do however is remember to put the bottle(s) in your freezer for a limited and timed period. 

Freezer styles vary. I am using the example of my apartment fridge with the freezer compartment up top and the fridge part on the bottom but of course it could be side by side, a bottom drawer, or a small apartment chest freezer. The principle is the same - it's way colder than your fridge temperature and will therefore chill your wine more quickly.  It will chill even faster in the freezer if you can position the bottle so that the jet of cold air coming somewhere at the back of your freezer is blowing directly over the bottle. Again circulation of cold around the bottle will speed things up.  I keep a space ready in my top freezer right in front of the fan.

The freezer method also takes about twenty-five minutes.

The key to avoiding disaster is to watch your timing carefully, but just to be sure, also set an alarm time. You may have a timer on your microwave or stove that works just fine but if you are still fussing around for your partyat the last minute or in another room, that distant beep may not register in your ear and the results of missing that audio cue could be let us say, dramatic. The best idea then is to set an alarm on your phone as it will usually be with you wherever you are during last minute dinner preparations.  It's warning tone should be hard to miss. 

When the timer goes off, take that bottle out NOW and put in the fridge compartment to maintain its temperature until you can serve it. Once it's in the fridge it will be safe. One of the big advantages of this method is that you can easily chill multiple bottles at the same time.

And If You Don't Hear The Timer?

This method is not complicated, you just set and respond to the timer but though you’re not playing with fire here, you are playing with freezer.  If you leave it in too long, the wine will start to freeze. The wines styles you are chilling down are going to be around 13% alcohol at most. They will freeze solidly if left too long - they’re not vodka.

If you do get to it late and its just starting to get slushy, it will probably be OK and not alter the taste or integrity of the wine. However if haven’t paid attention, something like this might happen…

and you will end up with a long stemmed Rosé. Do not entertain any cryogenically-based hopes for the wine’s full recovery. The wine will be kaput. It's little spirit will be crushed and it will taste, flat, watery and odd. If the cork doesn't give as it did here, or it's a screwtop it could burst the bottle and frozen, slushy wine mixed with broken glass will be loose in your freezer.

Just listen for that timer though and all will be well.

Alternative Cooling Gadgets

The two methods mentioned are handy, low cost, simple, effective and don't involve other technologies.  But on the market are many other ways to chill your wine down quickly, some effective and some dubious or more trouble than they are worth. 

There are many gadgets, electric and electronic that plug into the wall. Some do work very well and very quickly. They are basically miniature, specialized chillers. So if you don't mind another one trick pony smal appliance on your counter (e.g. waffle bowl maker) then give one a try.  There are also such things such as gel based jackets and pre-chilled things like marble stones you can insert straight into your glass. Just ask Dr. Google, he can fill you in on those and many others.

My favourite looks-good-but-think-about-it chilling gadget however is the "cooling stick". It looks something like this.

You put the stick (filled with some kind of gel) into the freezer ahead of time and then supposedly, you just uncork the wine and stick it into your wine to cool it down.

Simple and elegant right? There is definitely a cool factor (no pun intended) here. But if you look at the volume of frozen material in the cooling stick, it hardly compares with four trays of ice cubes.  How will it cool the wine quickly?

The kicker on this one however is that you can't actually just open the wine and stick this thing in there as it is big enough to displace at least three or ounces of wine that would simply spill onto your counter.  That means you would have to first pour out three or four ounces of wine into some other container. So how does that wine get cold? Pour it back later or what?  I would say the cooling stick might work to keep a wine cold but not to chill it down in the first place.  An ice bucket is just so much simpler and effective.

One last thing. Now that you have successfully chilled your wine (without popsicleizing it) you should know that when you pull it out of the bucket or the freezer, your wine will be below the ideal serving temperature for these styles of wine. Chilling wine to ice water temperature masks a wine's aromatic nuances and flavors though it does them no harm.  The term "ideal serving temperature" is not some abstract ideal. It's simply the optimal temperature for the aromas and flavours in these styles of wine to show their best.  

I have wine buddies who fret about this but I don't see the problem because when you pour it in your glass, it will simply warm up. Furthermore, if you take a sip now and then as it is warming up, you will see how the wine gradually unfolds and reveals its charms. I like the little bit of magic in that.

Welcome paid subscribers to the latest edition. Sale wines noted are discounted until March 5.

The Pro Tip is Two Ways To Chill Wine Quickly - Two Ways To Chill Wine Quickly - One Safe & One A Bit Chancy + A Few Gadgets

Let's Get Started

The Wine Bargains Are Widely Available From B.C. Government Stores and for this edition are in these styles:

Ripe Fruit Forward Reds (2 wines) | Savoury Fruit Reds (3 wines) | Medium Bodied Smooth Whites (2 wines) | Bigger, Oak Influenced Whites (1 wine) | Crisp, Dry Whites (1 wine)

For detailed descriptions of the styles see An Illustrated Guide To Wine Styles

FEATURED WINE

Here is just one of the great value for pleasure wines, independently reviewed, available at the time of publication.

Wine Style - Savoury Fruit Reds Style (plenty of fruit - but think cranberry, tomato sauce or fruit leather)

GUIGAL - COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE

$24.99 - 750 ml

From one of the top Rhone producers, mainly syrah in the blend with savoury herbs and dried berry notes. Well balanced and interesting.  Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Find Store Nearest You SKU: 259721

Here we go…

Ripe Fruit Forward Reds Style (think ripe cherries)

PEREZ CRUZ RESERVA - CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CHILE

$17.00 - 750ml

95 Points at the Decanter World Wine Awards (which matter!). Good Cabernet Sauvignon flavour and intensity. Excellent value at this regular price. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

https://www.bcliquorstores.com/product/126235

PETER LEHMANN THE BAROSSAN - SHIRAZ - AUSTRALIA

$22.99 reduced to 19.99 until March 5 - 750 ml

Big intense concentrated berry fruit. Dense and rich but with soft rich tannins. A lot of wine for the money. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Find Store Nearest You SKU: 144937

Savoury Fruit Reds Style (plenty of fruit - but think cranberry, tomato sauce or fruit leather)

GUIGAL - COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE

$24.99 - 750 ml

From one of the top Rhone producers, mainly syrah in the blend with savoury herbs and dried berry notes. Well balanced and interesting.  Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Find Store Nearest You SKU: 259721

FONTANAFREDDA BARBERA BRICCOTONDO - ITALY

$18.99 Reduced to $15.99 On sale until March 5 - 750 ml

Drinks surprisingly like a decent merlot, very plummy, pretty silky and rounded with very soft tannins and just a light note of liquorice on the end. Although it is in the Savoury Fruit style here, it is oh-so-close to the Ripe Fruit Forward style. I could well mistake this for a merlot if I was tasting it blind. I can’t think of a better way to ease into appreciating Italian red wine. A lovely wine for the price. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Find Store Nearest You SKU: 898718

MAS DE SAINTE CROIX TENDRE COTES-DU-RHONE VILLAGES VALREAS - FRANCE

$20.99 - 750 ml

A wine that "tastes of  place" showing savoury berry fruit concentration. It is slightly grippy on tannins at first but it opens up fairly quickly (and quicker with a double decant - see Newletter #1) to show a bigger, smoother texture.  A touch of tar and blackberry bramble in the finish. By blackberry bramble I mean the taste of a smaller, ripe blackberry where you taste the less sweet outside of the berry equally with the ripe fruit interior. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Find Store Nearest You    SKU: 253110

Medium Bodied, Smooth Whites Style (little/no oak, easy drinking, fresh or savoury fruit, various grapes)

FITZPATRICK FAMILY - RUNABOUT WHITE OKANAGAN VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA

$16.99 reduced to $13.97 On sale until March 5 - 750 ml 

You have to be a little careful with white blends from a range of grape varieties. They are usually quite drinkable and pleasant but sometimes winemakers use them as a kind of "everything but the kitchen sink" opportunity to use up grapes that if vinified separately might not make a wine that would stand up on it's own.

It's all in the blending.

Blending can end up creating a sum greater than its parts or simply not come together, with the characters of the various varieties kind of canceling each other out. This wine hits the mark successfully. It is a blend of Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Ehrenfelser, and Gewurztraminer. It's a lovely chorus of wine voices with trademark Okanagan, full, juicy acidity. Outstanding value at this sale price. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Find Store Nearest You    SKU: 4490

MEFFRE COTES DU RHONE BLANC SAINT VINCENT - RHONE VALLEY FRANCE $18.00 - 750 ml

Lemon and light apricot notes, peach skin, lemon zest, juicy acidity, crisp balanced finish. A straight forward, clean, zesty white to match with fish or chicken. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Find Store Nearest You SKU 888958

Richer, Oak Influenced Whites Style (fuller, buttery, with citrus, vanilla, tropical fruit, more…)

CHATEAU ST JEAN CHARDONNAY - CALIFORNIA, USA $19.99 - 750 ml

A well balanced little chardonnay package here of baked apple, honey, toasty vanilla oak and orange peel . Easy drinking and interesting from a very consistent producer. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Find Store Nearest You     SKU: 421644

Crisp, Dry Whites (Similar to and including Sauvignon Blanc)

LURTON LES FUMÉES BLANCHES SAUVIGNON BLANC, FRANCE $15.99 - 750 ml

Great value French sauvignon blanc here. Very aromatic, with slightly herbal citrus aromas. Then, crisp, fresh acidity with notes of grapefruit zest, kiwi, lemon but still restrained and in balance. It finishes very clean and lingers for a while.

A word about two names for the same grape. The grape here is sauvignon blanc. Fumées Blanches is the French version of Fumé Blanc which is a marketing term that was actually invented by Robert Mondavi to distinguish his drier wines from the fruitier versions such as those from New Zealand. You may still see some California and other sauvignon blancs labeled this way but this distinction in styles and names is now fairly blurred. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Find Store Nearest You SKU: 472555

Until next time.

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