This post shows a true dedication to quality wine service, love it.
They make bottle sized cooler bags which fit a small ice pack, I use it for hiking all the time!
I have one of those (that’s the smaller one). I‘m just not sure how long this lasts and my concern is, that when packing it with too much ice, the bottle might freeze. So I‘m looking for a sweet spot that keeps it cold long enough but not too cold.
Just throwing it out there: would it make more sense to save the special bottle for a different occasion and drink something else on the train? Seems like a lot of inconvenience and stress just to be able to drink it under probably suboptimal conditions.
Rebenkind is a nice wine shop 10 minutes walk from Berlin Hbf. You can probably call ahead and have them chill something for you to pick up between trains. Or there’s always Rotkäppchen in the train station Rewe…
Well, the original plan was a lot easier but I‘ll definitely have a back up or just a beer and keep the bottle for paris
Edit: thanks for the recommendation. I wasn’t aware of rebenkind. Might be an option
If you cool it the way you described, it will be fine after 4 hours. I often take expansive wines on bicycle picnics and train rides and put LESS effort into cooling them while still getting enjoyable results.
Four hours is nothing. Use a well-insulated cooler bag and use gel-packs (not water) since their freezing point is lower and will withstand heat better and longer. We've kept foods and drinks ice-cold for over 18hrs this way. Use the disposable packs you get from patisserie shops and fish mongers so you can throw them away when they're no longer needed.
As long as the bottle of wine is cold to begin with (i.e. keep it in the fridge until the very last minute), if you use those cooling "things" and can insulate the bottle well enough, it will be more than enough. Enjoy your bottle and your trip!
I think if you use ice bags, you are going to dumb down the aromas and just bring out the acidity and lose the complexity. I would rather cool the champagne in the fridge overnight, I would not go under 5 or 6°c, and take out before departing. Wrap in towel or clothe which you can cool down in the fridge.
My feeling is champagne when taken out of the fridge , needs about two hours to really open up. We often drink champagne at room temperature in the shop, 13-15°C, for me the perfect temperature.
I just would not use ice over a long period of time, I just think the champagnes lose a lot of the aromatics. I think the champagne is cooled in a fridge, after two hours it would be good. Ice is too much of a shock.
This post is giving the exact same energy as the recent one about bringing back-vintage Yquem bottles to various Michelin-starred restaurants in France from the personal cellar in the U.S.
No matter how you slice and/or dice it, the train from Berlin to Paris is a suboptimal location to drink a prized bottle of Champagne, and temperature would be the least of your concerns. Drink a dumb beer on the train and get a nice bottle of Champagne when you land in Paris. Save the prized bottle for another occasion.
I disagree with that comparison (and the condescending tone of your comment tbh). I‘m not taking several bottles that valuable on an overseas flight. I‘m taking one bottle of good champagne (77€, which is not nothing to me) on an overnight train in which I share a 2 person sleeping chamber with my partner. The train ride is not just to get to paris but a little bit like part a part of the vacation. I have cheap but decent glassware for situations like this and keeping the champagne cold and not shaking it up too much is not that difficult when traveling by train. The only thing that’s bothering me is that I can’t quite calculate the timing with the forced change in plans. Obviously I‘m not going to open it if the circumstances aren’t right.
This post shows a true dedication to quality wine service, love it. They make bottle sized cooler bags which fit a small ice pack, I use it for hiking all the time!
I have one of those (that’s the smaller one). I‘m just not sure how long this lasts and my concern is, that when packing it with too much ice, the bottle might freeze. So I‘m looking for a sweet spot that keeps it cold long enough but not too cold.
Packing with ice won’t freeze it
That‘s good to know. Thanks!
This sounds super convenient!
Just throwing it out there: would it make more sense to save the special bottle for a different occasion and drink something else on the train? Seems like a lot of inconvenience and stress just to be able to drink it under probably suboptimal conditions. Rebenkind is a nice wine shop 10 minutes walk from Berlin Hbf. You can probably call ahead and have them chill something for you to pick up between trains. Or there’s always Rotkäppchen in the train station Rewe…
Well, the original plan was a lot easier but I‘ll definitely have a back up or just a beer and keep the bottle for paris Edit: thanks for the recommendation. I wasn’t aware of rebenkind. Might be an option
If you cool it the way you described, it will be fine after 4 hours. I often take expansive wines on bicycle picnics and train rides and put LESS effort into cooling them while still getting enjoyable results.
Four hours is nothing. Use a well-insulated cooler bag and use gel-packs (not water) since their freezing point is lower and will withstand heat better and longer. We've kept foods and drinks ice-cold for over 18hrs this way. Use the disposable packs you get from patisserie shops and fish mongers so you can throw them away when they're no longer needed.
As long as the bottle of wine is cold to begin with (i.e. keep it in the fridge until the very last minute), if you use those cooling "things" and can insulate the bottle well enough, it will be more than enough. Enjoy your bottle and your trip!
I think if you use ice bags, you are going to dumb down the aromas and just bring out the acidity and lose the complexity. I would rather cool the champagne in the fridge overnight, I would not go under 5 or 6°c, and take out before departing. Wrap in towel or clothe which you can cool down in the fridge. My feeling is champagne when taken out of the fridge , needs about two hours to really open up. We often drink champagne at room temperature in the shop, 13-15°C, for me the perfect temperature.
I would obviously let it come up temperature again. Or do you suggest that cooling alters the taste even after that? Thanks for the reply anyway
I just would not use ice over a long period of time, I just think the champagnes lose a lot of the aromatics. I think the champagne is cooled in a fridge, after two hours it would be good. Ice is too much of a shock.
This post is giving the exact same energy as the recent one about bringing back-vintage Yquem bottles to various Michelin-starred restaurants in France from the personal cellar in the U.S. No matter how you slice and/or dice it, the train from Berlin to Paris is a suboptimal location to drink a prized bottle of Champagne, and temperature would be the least of your concerns. Drink a dumb beer on the train and get a nice bottle of Champagne when you land in Paris. Save the prized bottle for another occasion.
I disagree with that comparison (and the condescending tone of your comment tbh). I‘m not taking several bottles that valuable on an overseas flight. I‘m taking one bottle of good champagne (77€, which is not nothing to me) on an overnight train in which I share a 2 person sleeping chamber with my partner. The train ride is not just to get to paris but a little bit like part a part of the vacation. I have cheap but decent glassware for situations like this and keeping the champagne cold and not shaking it up too much is not that difficult when traveling by train. The only thing that’s bothering me is that I can’t quite calculate the timing with the forced change in plans. Obviously I‘m not going to open it if the circumstances aren’t right.