I normally place Champagne in refrig 2-3 days before serving. Then I place in bucket with ice and some rock salt about 20 min before company comes over.
Is Champagne already at the proper temp when it is in the refrig? Therefore bucket of ice not always needed?
Thanks for direction.
2-3 days sounds excessive to me. Some say Champers should be swiftly cooled, so a couple of hours in fridge and 45mins in bucket sounds right to me... Anders
It the temp from a normal fridge actually acceptable. Do you need an ice bucket?
I wouldn't think if Champagne was actually at fridge temperature (~40°F), as it would be if it was in refrigerator for 2 days, you'd need an ice bucket. That's plenty cold for bubbly. If bottle was at 70°F, it probably takes 4-5 hours to get down to low 40s. While I like Champagne colder than almost any other wine, I don't like it when people take it down to 32°F (0°C) or below, it really masks the yeasty notes I treasure.
Dale
Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply
The ice bucket is to *keep* it cold, not to cool it down.
Dimitri
Well, it depends if it's Champagne or sparkling wine, doesn't it?
(Ducking and running for cover)
Dana
Funny...would that be a "Cold Duck"
Dick, Conventional wisdom is that non-vintage Champagne should be served at 45 F (7 C), vintage Champagne a few degrees warmer. So, at what temperature is your fridge? It could be too cold for your purposes (!) The ice bucket will _definitely_ be too cold if your Champers starts out chilled.
Mark Lipton
"Mark Lipton" a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@purdue.edu...
Beurk, beurk, beurk... :o(
and then :o)
Mark,
I do not agree, except if you drink a bubbly beverage just because you are completely dehydrated and you are very thirsty... less than 8° C. the bubbly liquid has no aromas, no flavours, ... just acidy and fizzy gas. IMHO.
So, if we prefere to taste all the full aromas and flavours from the grapes, the soils & terroirs and more, and also with less acidity, more round and supple, it's better to drink the no vintage at around 10-12°C. and an old millésime ( champagne) - vintage : around 12-13°C.
In fact, it's the same temperatures as to drink a great white wine ( with no bubbles) from other region ( Burgundy, Alsace, Bordeaux, ... Italia, California, ... France and foreign vineyards.) IMHO
Also, because a great wine ( read-understand champagne with bubbles ) from Champagne region and soils is just a great white wine with few bubbles around, we must ( my humble opinion) drink at the same temperature as a great white wine.
But this is my humble and own opinion.
Best sparkling wishes,
Francis
f6, Thanks for the input. I was hoping that you'd add your expert opinion to this topic. By "conventional wisdom" I meant a dogma that goes largely unchallenged among wine drinkers in this country. However, I also feel (as do you I think) that all too often sparkling wine is considered as something different than wine. With a quality sparkling wine, I often treat it like a white wine and serve it ca. 9° C.
Exactly my point above.
Thanks for the information! Mark Lipton
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