Few things are more refreshing than a chilled glass of white wine on a balmy summer’s evening. But keeping the temperature of the wine just right can be tricky when it’s warm outside. That's why a quirky new hack, which promises to cool your wine down in an instant, is doing the rounds online.
The food and drink experts at Greatist.com recommend adding frozen grapes to your glass of wine will chill it in an instant without diluting the alcoholic beverage like ice cubes would.
Lifehacker also suggests the tip, explaining: 'Unsurprisingly, red grapes are perfect for red wines, and white grapes go well with white wine, but they won't pass much flavor through the skin, so it's not a huge deal if you only have one variety. 'The advantage of the grapes is that they won't water down your drink or cool it down too quickly like ice cubes.'
Next time you want to cool your wine, leave the ice cubes and rather pop a few grapes in the freezer. Picture: Pexels.com
So does it really work or is it just another fad doing the rounds online?
Ray Abercromby, Director, Doyen Wines Ltd, said: 'It’s a great idea, and works for both reds (which are often too warm - the phrase “drink at room temperature” is centuries-old; houses were colder then) and whites.
'Ice is fine, but it dilutes the wine, and nobody wants that. Frozen grapes keep their (frozen) juice inside the grape, so there is very little dilution or flavour transfer taking place. It’s best done by putting a few frozen grapes (two or three) into the glass, and swirling the glass around. The effects are almost immediate.
'It’s also more fun than using a frozen wine jacket to chill your bottle, and has the side effect of giving you some defrosted grapes to enjoy with your wine.'
Discussing the quirky hack - and whether it's effective - Victoria Briggs, Wine & Spirits Educator, Enotria & Coe, said that whilst using frozen grapes is better than opting for ice cubes, she would only recommend it 'as a last resort'.
She told FEMAIL: 'Using frozen grapes is better than ice cubes as they won't dilute the wine like ice would. But if you want your wine cold enough to need ice anyway you may as well have a spritzer, as when wine is that cold you can't really taste it. Plus, as soon as the grapes start to defrost they will affect the taste of the wine.'
Daily Mail