The summer sun’s beating down as we speak. Here are a few wine chilling hacks to help you out in a pinch – follow these instructions, and you’ll stay cooler than a polar bear’s toes.
1. Glammed-up wine fridge
A wine fridge in the kitchen? Makes sense. But a disguised wine fridge in the living room, or even on your patio? Heavenly! Cover it with a patterned runner and a few potted succulents and you’ve got the perfect, stylish chiller for storing a few bottles within easy reach.
2. Little cubes o’ wine
Winemaker Richard Bruno’s trick to keeping white wine nice and frosty: freezing wine into ice cubes! Like his clean and crisp Chenin Blanc. “It’s not a faux pas,” he says, “because when it melts, it turns into wine… and it’s delicious.”
3. Frozen grapes
Adding frozen grapes to a glass of white can work wonders – and it won’t water down the wine. Bonus: you’ve got a chilly, boozy fruit treat after your last gulp!
4. Towel trick
Wet a dish towel (or a few paper towels), wrap ‘em around your bottle of white and stick it in the freezer for 10-20 minutes. Voilà! You’ve got a nice, cold wine.
5. Wine slushie
Craving a tasty wine, but also got a sweet tooth? One of our staffers whipped up a deliciously drool-worthy wine slushie recipe featuring Karen Birmingham’s Pinot Grigio and fresh peaches. Yum!
6. Wine popsicles
These bright and fruity wine popsicles will keep you cool, AND satisfy your sweet tooth. Chop 3 cups of fruit (we recommend strawberries or peaches) and add into blender with a few sliced leaves of basil or mint. Add 3 cups of Moscato – while pouring yourself a glass to sip on, of course. Blend to desired consistency, skim off the extra foam, then pour into popsicle mold. Freeze for 2-3 hours, then add popsicle sticks and continue freezing for 4 hours or more. Bingo! You’ve got yourself an ice-cold pop of summer relief.
7. Sparkling floats
Add a scoop of sorbet to your glass of bubbles to turn it into a frosty float!
Follow these tricks and you’ll be set for summer. Toss on some shades, step out onto the patio and enjoy a glass of chilled wine (or three) – life is good.