Just finishing up quite a hot summer. Too often in restaurants my wine (particularly red) has been served too warm for my liking. Sure you can ask to have the bottle put into the frig or into an ice bucket to cool it down. However that might not be the best timely solution if the wine is already opened and about to be poured around the table to all the guests. A trick I have used forever is to take the largest ice cube from my water glass and quickly swirl it in my empty wine glass for a few seconds to really chill it down and then return it to the water glass. This technique may not show off the best of your social graces but it sure works surprisingly well in improving the wine’s vibrancy.
I learned this past weekend from the Wall Street Journal On Wine article by Lettie Teague (Strike the Just-Right Degree of Wine Cool) that she learned this trick from the late Alexis Bespaloff. You should be able to access this excellent article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323407104579037093927149138.html?mod=wsj_valetbottom_email. I recommend their WSJ weekly On Wine column which always seems to have something of topical wine interest in it to get you thinking.
There are other tricks like CoolBlues Reusable Ice Cubes available on Amazon or a new product called Whiskey Stones (“ice”cubes of solid odourless tasteless soapstone that don’t melt) available at www.vat19.com/dvds/whiskey-stones.cfm. I personally haven’t tried either of these myself at home. May work to chill down your glass of wine to the perfect temperature for you but are not recommended by me.
White wine served too cold is easier to deal with by just warming up the glass with your hands. Better yet if you have a cloth napkin to avoid fingerprints on the polished surface.
What tricks do you use to try and achieve the perfect temperature for you of the wine served to you?