The dog days of summer are here. Temperatures in Shanghai, Suzhou or Shenzhen are close to 40 degrees!
It’s time to enjoy our wines well chilled! So how do you chill a smooth, fresh and flavorful wine? Let’s see how we do it!
The do's and don'ts of chilling wine
Chilling red wines
Apart from white, rosé and sparkling wines, red wines should also be slightly chilled in summer. Favour lighter reds, with noticeable acidity and lighter tannins, as cold temperature tends to make tannins taste dryer and sharper.
Chilling methods
You can choose to use refrigerator to chill your wine, although this will take approximately 2 hours. If you're in a hurry, wrap the bottle with a wet napkin and place it in freezer, and it will do the job in 20 minutes.
The preferred method will be using an ice bucket, which you will fill with ice and water, with a total volume of about 3/4 of the capacity of the bucket. You can also add some salt to the bucket, which will make the ice melts quickly and speed up the chilling process.
Your ice bucket will have the advantage to keep the bottle chilled as you drink it at the table, without having to put it back in a fridge or freezer throughout the meal.
Another great choice is to buy an electric wine cabinet that can be set to the right temperature for different types of wine, and you just have to store the wine in them in advance. Isn't it very convenient?
Service temperatures
Don't forget, different wines have different service temperatures, so we've summarized them below.
Avoid prolonged time in fridge
Be careful not to leave the wine in the fridge for too long (e.g. a month), as it could make the cork dry out and let air go through, making the wine oxidized.
Serving wine too cold
Take the wine out of your fridge 10 minutes before you drink it. Too cold temperatures will have the effect to reduce the intensity and complexity or aromas.
Note that when you pour the chilled wine into the glass, its temperature will rise rapidly by about 1 or 2 degrees, because the temperature of the glass will be rapidly transferred to the wine.
Adding ice
Never add ice cubes directly to the glass. Although convenient, this will make the wine too cold and dilute its flavours, affecting the taste, which is very unfavorable for tasting.
Avoid contamination
Be careful not to let the food in the refrigerator contaminate the taste of the wine. So, before using the refrigerator for chilling, you need to make sure to clean it and seal your wine properly.
Beware if spoiled
If your wine is cloudy, smells like vinegar, or tastes like acetic acid, you can assume that the wine has deteriorated and should not be drunk, no matter chilled or not!
The mellowness and uniqueness of chilled wine lies in its soothing nature, so it is important to drink chilled wine carefully and slowly, not in one sip, in order to enjoy it to the fullest!
How's that? Are you already salivating after reading this? Follow our tips to chill your wine and enjoy the summer!
Founded in 2018 by Matthieu Ventelon, Hedonia is the first institution in China combining professional Wine and Etiquette expertise in the same training offer.
Find more information on our website : http://en.hedonia.cn