chilling/aerating question

[bwan]

hello all. i've got yet another question that is probably on the stupid side...but what can i say. you all have been very helpful in answering my bad questions thus far, so i thought i'd pose another.

so i'm mostly a pinot drinker when it comes to wine. and i like them to be served a touch below room temperature. the problem i have is that i also find most of them improve with a good amount of breathing time. so if i open the wine early and put it in a decanter, i don't really like to put it in the fridge for fear of it taking on some of the flavors floating around my old, decrepit fridge. so usually i end up chilling it for a bit, and then opening it. problem is by the time it's breathed enough the temperature has reverted back to room temp.

any suggestions? how do you get around this?

i'm sure the answer is breathtakingly obvious, but i'm stumped...

thx

[Bill Hunt]

I usually chill the decanter, and bring the wine up from the cellar at 55F. If you feel the need for a touch of chill, try an ice bucket, without water - only ice.

I have the same problem, especially with some of the bigger Santa Rita Hills' PNs in AZ. The first glass is wonderful, but if I do not put the bottle into a chilled stone collar, or similar, it gets a bit hot by the second glass.

If I am decanting for a longer time (usually big Cal-Cabs and Bdx) I WILL put the decanter into my higher-temp 'fridge - the one that I use for storing my everyday white wines and ales.

Hunt

[olasek]

>> don't really like to put it in the fridge for fear of it taking on some of the flavors floating around my old, decrepit fridge.

Tidy up your fridge. Unless yours is really filthy I just don't see how it could adversely your wine. Interior of my fridge is nothing to brag about, I simply throw away all spoiled food (rules of basic hygiene) and have frequently let open bottles do some breathing in the fridge with great results. But if interior of your fridge has mildew and other bad smells - I would be much more worried about quality of your meal than about serving wine at the right temperature.

[tmso]

One word: camembert. Okay, two more: kim chee.

The inside of my fridge is certainly clean, but that doesn't make it safe for open containers of mild-tasting things. I can't imagine a nice Bourgogne would benefit from hints of kim chee.

[olasek]

>> The inside of my fridge is certainly clean,

Your fridge?, I thought we were talking about bwan's fridge? I got lost who is who ;)

[AlaskaChick]

Get a Vinturi . I know you're thinking sure just another gadget - that's what I thought too when sweetie told me about it - he's all about the gadgets. But he sold me - it works. No need to decant - just pour through the Vinturi into the glass and drink.

[Dan G]

Cover the opening on the decanter before you put in in the fridge. I have one of the decanters that is sort of an upside down mushroom and find that the lids you buy in pet food stores for food cans work perfectly. But plastic wrap (maybe held in place with an elastic) would also work.

[wineguy7]

An ice bucket?

[bubbles4me]

maybe chill your glass?

[Brad Ballinger]

Put the decanter full of wine in ice. If that's not very practical, you can pour the decanted/werated wine back into the bottle (clean it first), and then put the bottle on ice.