A waterfall for a wine chiller

Sometimes, seemingly simple things can become overly complicated quite quickly. Take serving wine, for example. As enjoyable as drinking a nice glass of wine may be, the temperature-sensitive libation really does benefit from being served at specific (or at least close enough) temperatures. However, chilled wine storage is not always an option, so the simple act of opening a bottle must be put on hold while the bottle is put through some sort of chilling process. The easiest option may be to pop a bottle in the freezer for rapid cool-down, but as anybody knows who has had that method backfire on them, a little complication is sometimes worth it.

When faced with a wine bottle that needs to be chilled, the VinPodium Rapid Wine Chiller from Cooper Cooler is an option that looks overly complicated, but is actually a simple solution--and an attractive one too. The silver countertop unit measures 14.6 inches tall with a base of 10.9 inches by 6 inches. Designed to chill 750ml bottles or 1.5L bottles (2L soda bottles work as well), the appliance sends a stream of near-freezing water over the bottle, creating an effective water shower that quickly reduces the temperature of the wine.

Faster at chilling a bottle than a refrigerator, a freezer, or even an ice bath, the VinPodium cools a bottle of red in as little as 3 minutes. It requires about a dozen ice cubes to work for standard-size bottles and is only restrained by the temperature of the recirculating water. For those who appreciate a quick-fix solution, the wine accessory is an elegant answer to a simple quandary.