In order to determine how long each method took to work, F&W chilled red and white wines in the refrigerator, the freezer, and an ice bath.
While it takes 40 minutes to chill a bottle of wine that is at room temperature in the freezer, it only takes a fraction of that time using other simple techniques: 11–13 minutes when cooled horizontally in ice water, 6–8 minutes in salted ice water, and only 2-3 minutes when spun in heavily salted ice water.
Table of Contents
How Long Does It Takes to Chill a Bottle of Wine?
Fridge
White wine required 3 hours and red wine 2.5 hours in the refrigerator to reach the proper temperatures of 55 degrees and 45 degrees, respectively.
Freezer
In the freezer, it took 40 minutes for red wine to reach the ideal serving temperature and an hour for white wine.
Ice-Water Bath
Red wine reached its ideal temperature in an ice bath in just 10 minutes, while white wine took 20 minutes.
The Methods That Will Keep You Waiting
By far the slowest wine cooling techniques were the simplest ones. After about an hour and a half, we gave up on the bottle of wine that had been standing upright in the refrigerator door; by that time, the temperature was still close to 60°F (16°C), and it was barely dropping by one degree every five minutes.
A bottle chilled upright in the freezer (without cloth wrapping) took about the same amount of time (85 minutes) to reach the desired temperature of 45°F, but it did so much more slowly than any of the ice-bucket methods or by simply laying the bottle on its side in the freezer.
How to Chill Wine Fast?
- Put water and 1/2 lb of salt in a large bucket and mix thoroughly to ensure complete dilution of the salt.
- In order to create a thick slush, combine ice with salt water.
- Place your wine bottle(s) entirely in the salted ice water mixture.
- Bottle(s) can be held by the top and spun while remaining completely submerged.
- For red wines, spin for 2 minutes; for white wines, spin for 3 minutes.
- Pull the cork on the bottle and enjoy after removing it from the ice water.
Pro Tip: While spinning more is preferable, spinning even a little is preferable to doing nothing. “Nervous Nellies” should rejoice… You’ve got a job to do at every party! Conclusion: Depending on the number of spinning hands you have at your disposal, lightning fast and applicable to multiple bottle applications. Please excuse my icy hands. For even faster results, position your bottle(s) horizontally in a salted ice bath and spin!
Summary: How Long Does It Takes to Chill a Bottle of Wine Really?
While it takes 40 minutes to chill a bottle of wine that is at room temperature in the freezer, it only takes a fraction of that time when using other easily accessible methods: 11–13 minutes when cooled horizontally in ice water, 6–8 minutes in salted ice water, and only 2-3 minutes when spun in heavily salted ice water.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment. Thank you for reading.
