Revealed: How to chill any bottle of wine in under THREE MINUTES (and all it takes is salt and ice)
- Brian McClintic is one of the world's 200 master sommeliers
- Preferred method is to put wine submerged in ice water with lashings of salt
- Salt reduces freezing point of water and helps it chill faster
- Putting it in the freezer may work but risks smashing the bottle
There's nothing like a nice cold glass of wine if you fancy a tipple on a scorching day, but if you've forgotten to put your Chardonnay in the fridge it will definitely put a dampener on your picnic or barbecue.
While purists will certainly frown at dropping in a few ice cubes, it's not the ideal solution in terms of getting it perfectly chilled either.
Bu there is a very simple way of rapidly chilling your wine, using ingredients you already have in the kitchen, according to Brian McClintic, who is one of the world's 200 master sommeliers.
The trick is, he revealed to My Domaine: 'An ice water bath with plenty of salt -let's just say a liberal amount. Works like a charm. The full bottle should be submerged.
According to Brian McClintic, who is one of the world's 200 master sommeliers, submerging your bottle in a bath of ice and adding lashings of salt will get it cold in minutes (stock image)
'What happens is the bottle is encased in ice and therefore comes down in temperature much more quickly.'
Salt lowers the freezing point of water, allowing the wine to cool down quicker, giving you a chilled bottle in minutes.
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Giving the water a stir every now and then should also speed up the cooling process.
It's a safer bet than putting wine in the freezer as if you leave it for too long you risk the bottle smashing, leaving you with a precarious mess to clean up.
Salt lowers the freezing point of water and stirring the liquid every so often will also speed up the chilling process (stock image)
How long wine really lasts after a bottle's been opened - and other ways to reduce wine waste
Fortified wines keep the longest - up to 28 days - while sparkling wine keeps for up to three days
1. Don't throw away wine too early
Sparkling wines (stored with a wine stopper in the fridge), reds (stored in a cool dark place with a cork), rosé or white (both stored in the fridge with a cork) can all be kept for 3-5 days. It's also perfectly OK to store opened red wine in the fridge.
2. Focus on quality
Nearly two in three (63 per cent) said they'd be more likely to finish a bottle of wine if they'd paid more for it. Better quality wine, such as a top-end Burgundy, will last longer too.
3. Consider a fortified wine
These are wines made to last. An open of bottle of sherry, for example, with the cap closed or cork in, will keep for many weeks.
4. Keep the bottle upright
Storing the wine upright minimises the surface area exposed to oxygen, which can spoil the wine faster
5. Don't open everything at once
If you are hosting a party, don't uncork multiple bottles of wines of at once. Wait and see what wines your guests actually want to drink to avoid lots of half-consumed bottles when clearing up.
