How to Chill Wine Quickly

How to chill a bottle of wine quickly!

Have you ever been in need of a glass of wine pronto but don't have one properly chilled. Luckily, you don't have to! Here are three simple ways to chill a bottle of wine in 20 minutes or less.

#1 Add salt: The ideal thing to do is to submerge your wine is an ice bucket filled with water and ice (adding the water will help chill it down faster than just ice alone). In addition, add 4 tablespoons of salt to the mixture to further speed 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 Spin it baby: If the water/ice/salt method isn't chilling your white wine fast enough, keep the bucket nearby and gently spin the wine bottle in the ice water every couple of minutes. Spinning the bottle moves around the contents inside, allowing more wine to come into contact with the cold glass chilling it faster. Keep in mind that this method works best for non-sparkling still white wines. If you try this with a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine the cork may explode along with the contents of the bottle.

#3 Freeze with a wet blanket: I don't necessarily recommend this for fine and rare wines but putting wine in the freezer will chill it relatively quickly. To speed up the process, wet a clean dish 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. Best to set a timer so you don’t end up with an explosion or slushy wine! 

Whatever you do, don't add ice cubes to your wine glass! :-)