Dear Karen, we live in Florida and wondered if it’s okay to chill red wines?

August 4, 2026

“Dear Karen, we live in Florida and wondered if it’s okay to chill red wines?”The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

Don, it’s definitely okay. In hot and often humid places like Florida, red wines can taste especially dull and lifeless when they are served a bit too warm. A good rule of thumb is to serve all red wines at the temperature of an air-conditioned movie theater. That’s in the high 60s Fahrenheit, not the 70s (which is the temperature in many people’s homes.) In particular,
Pinot Noir and tastes much better when served on the cool side. Can you put a red wine in the freezer to chill the bottle? Actually it’s faster (and better for the wine) if you submerge the bottle up to its neck in ice water. Ten minutes should do it.

–Karen

For what food has the TSA (US Tranportation Security Administration) recently issued an advisory saying that the substance must only be transported in checked luggage, not in carry-on? The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

A. Carne Asada seasoning

B. Wagyu beef jerky

C. Ranch dressing

D. Kit Kat bars

22.5

Amount (in thousands of US$) paid at auction for a single bottle of 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, the red wine that came in first in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting fifty years ago. The bottle, sold by Christie’s auction house, was The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.