It has been a hot, hot, hot summer thus far! Everyone wants to be near water… pool, lake, ocean (baby pool—anything that works, right?!). With this in mind, the team at Wine 365 has rallied to provide you with our favorite secret wine tips to enjoy on your own or when you are hosting a summer get-together.
Diana Zahuranec
When it’s really hot and I’m craving a cold drink, I’ll put my wine glass or cup in the freezer for 10 or 20 minutes. When I pour my cold white or rosé wine into it, it keeps the wine cold and is very refreshing.
If I’m having red wine, I’ll put it in the refrigerator for a short amount of time, 15-20 minutes (depends on how hot it is outside!). This should be less of a secret and more common knowledge: the ideal temp for serving red wine is around 60-68 degrees…and my apartment definitely isn’t that cool in the summer!
Joe Janish
When you find yourself in a hot situation and need to chill down a bottle of white wine quickly, the fastest and most efficient way to do so is by plunging the bottle in a bucket of ice saltwater. Get a bucket or similarly appropriate container – Champagne bucket, beach bucket, Homer bucket, or even a stockpot will work – fill it almost all the way with ice, fill the rest with cold water, dump in a half-cup to a cup of salt, stir quickly, and submerge the unopened bottle. It should chill down to a refreshingly cool temperature in less than ten minutes. I use this method to chill down “room temperature” bottles of red, too, but leave red wine in there for only about five minutes (listen to this podcast to find out why: Your Wine Is Too Warm – Anthony Giglio’s Temperature Tantrum – #016.
Henry Sidel
You could try both of our sparkling sakes—HouHouShu Blue and Pink (Rosé). Also, Yuzu and Umeshu are both great on the rocks with a splash of soda. Yuzu is great in mimosas for a yuzu-mosa. There’s a great cocktail guide here: jotosake.com/sake-cocktails.
Nick Poletto
I like to chill Jadot Beaujolais-Villages on hot summer days!
Gabrielle Tapia
When drinking wine at the beach, pool, or any restaurant by the water, I always opt for a lighter alcohol wine with high acidity. I feel that lighter ABV wines from the Old World, like Provence Rosé, Sancerre, Chablis, or Etna Bianco are a smart option when drinking in the heat because you don’t want to get dehydrated, which might happen when drinking high-alcohol cocktails. These high acid wines will also pair well with any favorite summer seafood like ceviche, oysters, or my favorite: a homemade tuna fish sandwich on the beach!
Jennica Ossi
I like to freeze grapes to add to the wine glass to keep wine chilled on hot summer days. Adding ice cubes to your wine will water down your drink.
Jack Horn
If you’re on the golf course and you’d like to stick with wine over beer, I recommend filling up a re-usable Nalgene with your favorite white wine. This will keep the wine cool and ensure any nosy field marshals are none the wiser!
Missi Holle
In the summer, when things heat up and the daylight lasts into the early evening, I enjoy ending my workday with a glass of bubbles on the porch. I switch it up between Champagne, Cava, and Crémant, but always have a bottle chilled, open, and ready to pour. My secret is that I don’t even use a stopper when storing my bottle in the fridge. I find that both the taste AND the bubbles can last up to five days (if I haven’t consumed the bottle by then!). A friend convinced me to try this and now I’m convinced that each time you unstop a stopper, it releases more bubbles than simply leaving the stopper off. Cheers!
Jillian Lepore
My preferred drink of choice in the summer is rosé! One of my favorite secret tips for sipping rosé is to chill my wine glass for about 10 minutes before drinking. I also try to use a glass with a stem so while I’m sitting on my porch on a midsummer night leisurely sipping rosé, my hand won’t warm up the glass.
Vesselina Stoyanova
Who said you can’t ice your wine? White, red, or rosé wine spritzers are my go-to easy summer sipping secret.
Favorite concoction:
- 4oz ice
- 3oz Bouvet Ladubay Rosé (no need to use club soda for this recipe)
- 1oz Ceres Litchi (Lychee) juice
It’s super refreshing and exotic, even for the Brooklyn Tar Beach.
Here are three wine bundles to help you beat the heat:
