Ice Buckets Chill Wine Faster Than Cubes, but the Fridge Works Too

A bucket filled with ice and water cools white and rosé wine faster than ice cubes alone, according to guidance published November 1st. The freezer is quicker still, at 20 to 30 minutes for a bottle, but wine expands as it freezes and glass can crack, so it needs a timer.

Restaurants once kept buckets on hand for this task. Wine fridges reduced that practice, and buckets are less common in homes now. Pulling a bottle from a bucket also calls for a cloth, since water runs off the outside and onto the table. Buckets chill wine fast, and very cold wine mutes what a taster can pick up on the palate.

The sequence of options runs this way: a refrigerator over a few hours; outdoors overnight if the weather is cold, such as on a balcony or beside a back door; a freezer for 20 to 30 minutes with a timer set. Wrapping the bottle in a damp tea towel or newspaper and placing it in the freezer takes 10 to 15 minutes or a little longer.

Serving temperatures vary by style. Sparkling wines, crisp dry wines and rosé go best at 5 to 10 degrees. Richer whites sit at about 12 degrees. Light reds are poured cool, near 15 degrees.

Stainless steel sleeves and clay coolers can hold a bottle's temperature at the table, though they are not required for the chilling step.