The festive season is upon us which means that we’re breaking out a chilled glass of wine a bit more often than we’re used to.
But what can you do when visitors arrive unannounced and you need to get your wine chilled ASAP?
Leaving a bottle of vino on standby in the fridge isn’t always an option, the weather here in Ireland is so unpredictable that it can be impossible to know when to pop it on to cool. So, unfortunately, finding ourselves in this frankly horrific, situation, is an all too regular occurrence.
Luckily for us, the people at mydomaine.com have chatted to a master sommelier to discover how exactly we can cool our wine in minutes flat, so as not to spend any more time sans vino in claw.
As you might have predicted, it does involve a lot of ice, but it also includes one ingredient that you may have never considered when panic cooling before.
Brian McClintic explains to mydomaine that an ice bath with lots of salt will do just the trick.
“An ice-water bath with plenty of salt works like a charm,” he explains.
While there isn’t a set amount of salt to use in with the ice, Brian says that a liberal amount is best. Giving the science behind the chilling, he said: “It’s hard to say how much salt – let’s just say a liberal amount. What happens is the bottle is encased in ice and therefore comes down in temperature much more quickly.”
So there you have it, if you’re in dire need of a Wednesday night tipple but can’t wait more than 3 minutes before knocking it back, a bit of ice and salt will do just the trick.
Enjoy your tipple.