one bottle wine chiller gift?

[meg944]

My husband and I are quite interested in wine. We have more wine and wine knowledge than almost anyone else I know in our age range, though we’re just starting to get to the stage when we can buy truly collectible wines and the like.

That said, my dad (who is my role model in many ways, including his love of wine) bought us a one-bottle wine cooler for the holidays. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produc...

I had never even heard of this before. We aren’t particularly interested in cooling wines quickly (there would seem to be simpler ways of doing that,) and we are generally gadget-phobic (my husband used to work in restaurants and scoffs at all of the things people seem to think they need to cook.) On the other hand, I am really intrigued by the idea of being able to chill it to the “expert recommended” temperature and hold it there. Have any of you used this? Do you find it to be worthwhile? I am also wondering, if it is a good product, whether perhaps we should exchange it for the two bottle version. Then we could have one bottle open and holding at ideal temperature, while the next cools down.

Thoughts? I did a quick search on this board and didn’t find anything.

[maria lorraine]

I'd like to recommend you take it back it Williams-Sonoma and exchange it for something or some things that would be really useful. Maybe a wonderful new chef's knife, something like that.

My problem with these gadgets is that
--another easier method is at hand
--gadget takes up space
--gadget as described by midlife doesn't work very well
--gadget can only cool standard size bottle, not champagne, not tall bottles
and
--your emotional response to the gift isn't what was intended. My sense is that your father wanted to give you a gift you would enjoy. So please find another item that you will feel some excitement about and appreciation for -- a new Japanese ceramic chef's knife or fill in your blank here_________.

[Bill Hunt]

Without comparing the specs., I'd guess that it's similar to the unit that Sharper Image has. I received one as a gift, some years ago. After languishing in the butler's pantry, I brought it out and tried it. It was OK, for nudging the bottle's temp a few degrees, but really did not blow me away. The chilling seemed to take longer, than I had expected, and the warming, still longer. I go back to it, from time to time, but do not find it as useful, as I (and the presenter of the gift) had imagined. Maybe WS's product is a bit quicker. I'd say to try it and see if it does the trick for you.

Hunt

[Midlife]

I've been looking for a wine chiller that doesn't require ice cubes and this appears to be it. However...... the one consumer review I found on epinions.com says that it will only chill down to 62 degrees and takes quite a long time to do that (no specific on the time). Except for the damage it does to the label, ice cubes and cold water would seem to be a better method.

[FrankJBN]

It must be your age range. Eventually you will understand that as a wine enthusiast, along with wine you will acquire a collection of wine gadgetry.

Is this product just an expensive electric swizzle stick? Sure, but I'll tell you, I love my electric swizzle stick.

"I am really intrigued by the idea of being able to chill it to the “expert recommended” temperature and hold it there"

That's good. The manufacturers want you to be intrigued. Will it make any difference in your appreciation and enjoyment of your wines? Not very likely. Do you really think that there are at a minimum 33 different temperatures at which you should serve wines?

You say "We aren’t particularly interested in cooling wines quickly (there would seem to be simpler ways of doing that"

and the first response says "I tend to throw it in the freezer for 10 minutes, which deffinitely is NOT the best way to handle the situation"

I'd like to ask you both, what difference does it make? It seems with this device, you put a bottle into the unit and press a button. What could be simpler (while providing a faster than normal chilling)

What's wrong with throwing a bottle in the freezer for 10 minutes (other than it is not very efficient)?

This item has no particular real world value -it's a toy - play with it.

[whiner]

Frank,

I said I don't think throwing a wine into the freezer (although that is what we all do) is the best way to handle the situation because it cools the wine without circulation, some wine gets dropped in temperature too quickly, I would imagine, while some wine stays warm, and the only reason the wine comes off as cool is that when you pour it out of the bottle the molecules mix. There is also the problem of getting side tracked and winding up with a very expensive ice cube. Another problem I suspect many of use have had at some point in our wine-drinking lives.

[FrankJBN]

"some wine gets dropped in temperature too quickly, I would imagine"

Too quickly for what?

You realize the same uneven cooling would occur with the wine cooler product under discussion, and actually with any "passive" cooling method. That is to say, even in a wine bucket, wine cools from the outside of the bottle inward unless one manipulates the bottle.

[Bill Hunt]

I'm with you on this one. While I have similar, my wines come into the house and one, of two things, happen: the wine goes to the cellar, or it goes into my wine 'fridge, which is kept at ~50 F. If I plan on drinking it soon, it's to that 'fridge. Even with whites, that I like much warmer, but the time I take the btl. out, cut the foil, pop the cork, and pour, the temp has risen a bit. Then, the glasses go to the lower patio, and normally in AZ, the ambient temp warms it up a bit more. If I still deem it too cool, I just cup my hands around the bowl and I'm just about there. [This week, the outside ambient temps in AZ have NOT bee cooperating, and my Cabs are too cool.]

I still play with my version of the 1 btl. cooler/warmer, but have yet to be convinced that I need it. Maybe an instance will arise and I will feel differently someday.

Hunt

[whiner]

Well...

It SOUNDS really cool!

Honestly, when I want to chill down a wine fast I tend to throw it in the freezer for 10 minutes, which deffinitely is NOT the best way to handle the situation.

When I worked in wine stores we would have machines that could cool down multiple bottles at once, but they required water to be circulated around the wine bottles and still took about ten minutes. This sounds better. Uh-oh... has this post just given me an idea? ;-)