It’s summertime in Missouri. We all know what that means… It’s hot and humid. What could be better on a sweltering day than a glass of refreshing, chilled Missouri wine? Not much. However, getting your wine chilled quickly or keeping it nice and cool can be a bit of a challenge in the summer heat. So here are some tips.

1. Refrigerate at 3, 2, 1: If you are able to plan ahead, you can use the 3, 2, 1 rule in the refrigerator – 3 hours for sparkling wines, 2 hours for white, rose and sweet reds, and 1 hour for semi-dry and dry reds. Many say red wine should be served at room temperature, but cellar temperature is actually the recommendation. If you keep your thermostat at 60-65 degrees, you’re good to go. If not, chilling your red for a short time will do the trick.
2. Wet Towel + Freezer: If you put a bottle of wine in the freezer for 30-40 minutes, you can get it pretty well chilled. However, if you wrap it in a wet towel or paper towels before you put it in the freezer, it cuts the time to 20-25 minutes for a nice, chilled wine.
3. Ice + Salt + Water: Outdoor events or just a gathering on the back patio often mean beverage tubs and ice as the way to get and keep your wine chilled. This works fine with about an hour lead time, but if you want to speed up the process, submerge your bottles in salted ice water. Adding the water spreads the cold evenly across the bottles surface. Adding salt and spinning the bottles by the neck while submerged also speeds up this tactic.
4. Frozen Grapes: Frozen grapes (or any fruit, really) can act as ice cubes in your wine glass without watering down your vino. We suggest this as a way to keep your wine chilled rather than starting with wine at room temperature.
5. Insulated Wine Glasses: There are lots of options out there, but these can be handy for enjoying your Missouri wine outside. Bonus- if they have a lid, they will also prevent bugs from trying to dive bomb your beverage. There’s even a double-walled wine tumbler on the list of rewards you can get as an MVP. 

Cheers to another warm Missouri summer paired with nice and chilled local wine!