In an effort to turn at least one of my friends into a wine berserker, I’m going to be serving a wide variety of wines at our holiday party this year. Probably five different whites and a few reds. I’m not really worried about the reds, but I’d like to keep the whites near optimum drinking temperature out on the bar. I have one insulated sleeve (acrylic I think), but don’t want to go buy 4 more. I’ll probably keep the unopened whites in the fridge and try to keep an eye to pulling one a few minutes before the current bottle is finished.
Any DIY cooling setups folks can recommend? Or even something I can buy that’s not outrageously expensive?
I use a small insulated picnic bag with a gel-filled “freezer block” inside for 2 or 3 bottles, and a bigger picnic cooler for up to 10 or 12 bottles. These things are sold in supermarkets during the summer season - may be a bit late now unless you are in a warm area.
Big tub/sink of ice - set bottles ON TOP of the ice, not buried in the ice. Base contact with the ice will keep things cool, but not nearly as cold as bottles that are buried in the ice.
but some “scrap” pieces of granite/stone countertop and place in the freezer for a few hours. during party place stone on counter with whites on top, the residual cold will help keep them cool for a good while (a few hours typically, depending on room temp) and shouldn’t cost too much…
use either individual cooling collars with ice for each bottle - available in supermarkets (at least here in Europe) -
or take a case or box for bottles in standing position - and put some collars or other cooling elements between them.
Well lets get really cheap and Larry the Cable Guy here. Obviously up here in the Great White North, this time of year simply requires you put the bottle outside in a cooler on the deck. However, for parties, I can’t stand the dripping bottle of sparkling or white flopping all over the kitchen or house leaving a slip trail. Nor do I like to have to go search through a tub of ice water for the label of what I am serving to show guests what to look for at the store. My solution – and this is patented – is to put a bunch of ice in a garbage bag (usually I double bag) and then set the bottles on top. If we are having a biggish get together, I lay cardboard inserts over the garbage bags and then put cardboard inserts over the top of them with ice made in large Rubbermaid containers a couple of hours in advance. We always use our Coleman Big Boy cooler with the divider so that there is also space for beer, coolers, etc at the other end. My wife likes it best when I make the ice in the Rubbermaid containers and then put those in the garbage bags with the inserts on top as she feels this “looks” more pleasing to the eye than the bottle sitting on top of the garbage bags. Takes a little prep but, its cheap and re-useable.