Having just weathered a warm and muggy Labor Day grilling experience, I have a few thoughts on keeping your wines cool and serving them at the right temperature through the remaining dog days of summer.
As the temps soared over the Labor Day weekend, I was reminded of my many trips to France and Italy in the middle of summer. Most restaurants in the countryside lacked air conditioning and the idea of sipping wine at "room" temperature was seldom appealing.
I always asked for an ice bucket, even for the red wines. A red wine off the rack in a restaurant where the ambient temperature approaches 90 F is going to taste out of balance. The tannins will be more astringent and the alcohol hotter than if the wine were served at a temperature closer to 65 F.
Chilling your bottle of red for 10 minutes in an ice bucket will do wonders for the wine, diminishing the feel of alcohol on the palate and bringing up the fruit (as counterintuitive as that may seem). At home, I typically store wine in a refrigerated wine cabinet that maintains a steady 60 F. In warm weather, I bring the wine out about 30 minutes before serving. By the time it goes into the glass, it is near the perfect temperature for sipping.
In cooler weather, I remove reds from the refrigerated unit at least two hours prior to serving and generally decant.
White wines in warm weather pose a different challenge. Getting them cold enough to enjoy and keeping the chill on the bottle are necessary to preserve the freshness of acidity and liveliness of flavor that would be inherent in otherwise normal conditions.
I often see restaurant servers place white wines on the table without offering a means to keep the wine chilled. That works in December in the northern hemisphere but not so much in July, August or early September.
The ice bucket is your friend in this situation for two very important reasons. First, many whites are simply not cold enough when presented in a restaurant. And if you’re at home or dining al fresco, that bottle of white often comes right off the rack at the ambient room temperature.
The quickest way to chill a bottle of white wine is to immerse it in ice water for 15 to 20 minutes.
If you merely set the bottle on top of the ice, or even wedge it down slightly in the bucket, the time it takes to chill throughout could more than double. This is especially crucial when chilling a sparkling wine. It is important to chill the bubbly in the neck of the bottle lest the first glass come out dull and insipid.
Second, even if a white wine is served at the perfect temperature, in warmer weather it will warm quickly at tableside. The ice bucket or an insulated wine sleeve will preserve the chill and keep the wine tasting crisp and refreshing.
8