“Spin the bottle in a salted ice bath and it will be chilled and ready to drink in less than five minutes,” reveals sommelier and Good Clean Wine co-founder Michelle Feldman. She elaborates on her instructions saying to fill a metal container large enough to hold your bottle—a large, tall stock pot works perfectly—with 50 percent ice, 50 percent water, and two cups of salt. Then, submerge the bottle up to the bottleneck in the ice water and twist the bottle and swirl it for about five minutes.
Sommelier Samantha Capaldi has another smart tip for chilling your wine ASAP: she pours the wine and adds a few frozen grapes to each glass. “This way, it gets chilled immediately without the chance of watering it down with ice cubes,” she says. This is actually her preferred method. “I always remember to grab a pack of grapes from the grocery store and have them in my freezer at all times,” she says, adding that between four to eight frozen grapes per glass typically does the trick.
So… what’s the consensus re: ice cubes?
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: just adding plain old ice cubes to your glass of wine. When it comes to this (ahem) ‘older-school’ method, Capaldi and Feldman both have a “you do you” attitude about it. “The best way to drink wine is how you like it. It’s totally acceptable to add ice to red, white, rosé, or sparkling,” Feldman says. “Spritzes, wine cocktails, and sangria are often poured over ice. Adding ice can dilute the colors, aromas, and flavors, but it also makes wine more refreshing on a hot day.” If you want to add ice cubes without diluting the flavor, you can always use whiskey cubes ($8) instead of real ones.