As temperatures reach sweltering levels many readers are asking similar questions when it comes to summer heat and wine.
Can you drop a few ice cubes into your wine to give it a quick cool-down?
It seems the perfect solution to quickly cool a glass of wine, but it can alter the taste and balance. Wine, unlike other beverages, has a perfect balance of water, sugar, acid, tannin and alcohol. Adding ice disrupts this balance.
What is the fastest way to cool a bottle of wine?
Place the bottle in a half water, half-ice solution for 10 minutes or a quick freezer chill for 10 to 20 minutes.
Will leaving a bottle of wine in the car on a hot day make it go bad?
I consider myself a wine rule follower but last summer I forgot a bottle in my trunk in sweltering 100-degree temperatures. Not only did the cork start to push out and spew wine in my shopping bag but, worse, it tasted stewed. When wine is subjected to temperatures over 100 degrees, you can be sure its quality will be jeopardized. This can happen in a relatively small amount of time in cars with excessive inside temperatures. I like to treat wine as I would milk and ice cream. You wouldn’t leave these items in the car while you take on an afternoon of errands in summertime heat.
Can red wines be refreshing during the summer months?
Many people serve red wines entirely too warm, especially in the summer. If the bottle of wine is sitting out in your home it most likely will be warmer than if it was tucked away in a cool cellar. The tradition of drinking red wines at room temperature does not apply to consumers in sweltering heat. The ideal temperature for a red wine is best between 58 and 65 degrees. If your bottle feels too warm, pop it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Don’t leave it in too long or you’re left with a glass devoid of fruits and packed with tannin overload.
Is there one wine style you recommend for summer?
Rose, rose, rose (ro-zay). This perfect summer wine offers the cool, refreshing characteristics of white wine. I will stay on my rose wine soapbox until I am confident that wine lovers have given them a fair try. Many people still associate rose with its 1970s reputation: cheap, sweet, slightly fizzy — the pink drink at an afternoon cookout, wedding reception or even, unforgivably, a dinner party. The truth is a quality rose wine is neither sweet nor fizzy and in most cases bone dry, refreshing with beautifully aromatic characteristics ideal for summer menus.