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Cool Box Advice for Transporting/Cooling wine

Drinks Chat
#1

Hello.

Looking for some advice please

Getting married this summer (fingers crossed)

We have a bit of a time difference between the ceremony finishing and the reception starting. The church have very kindly agreed that we can have a (covid secure) glass of fizz at the back of the church after the ceremony finishes. This is great news but brings logistical challenges.

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for cool boxes (or other alternative) for keeping up to 6 bottles or 3 magnums of fizz safe and cool over a couple of hours. Also any recommendations for recyclable fizz glasses also appreciated.

Any ideas or advice gratefully received.

Thanks

Alex

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#2

If you pack any cool-box with all the wine you need straight out of the fridge then fill the space with ice it will stay plenty cold enough for a couple of hours.

I’ve got something like this, but suggest you check internal dimensions for capacity.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Litre-Coloured-Cooler-Box-Blue/dp/B01I3JUAS6/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=cool+box&qid=1620381907&sr=8-15

For recyclable glasses, you won’t get much better economy option than these. Keep using them until they break then into your recycling bin they go!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stemmed-Elegant-Champagne-Flute-Glasses/dp/B08282ZXZB/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=cheap+flutes&qid=1620381982&sr=8-4

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#3

I assume the church doesn’t have a fridge anywhere? (worth asking if you haven’t done so already).

@Brocklehurstj’s suggestion sounds eminently do-able to me. In the event of there being any reason why they wouldn’t let you keep things in ice, you can buy refrigerated cool boxes at large car accessory places (and maybe camping and caravanning type places too, though I don’t know about them). They are designed to run off the car’s 12V supply, but some also can be run off the mains too. You could get one of them. They make hardly any noise when running.

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#4

Depending on where you’re getting the fizz from, a lot of places still offer free glassware/glassware hire. A wedding my other half is involved in are getting their fizz/glasses from Majestic without any problems.

On that note it might also be worth investigating whether you can get the fizz delivered chilled at the end of the ceremony rather than getting it there yourself?

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#5

Chiller sleeves in a cool bag will be fine for that length of time. When I go to cricket I sometimes have to leave home very early, and my wine is still cold at lunchtime, if it lasts until then.

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#6

Not sure what you mean by ‘recyclable’ flutes; normal wine glasses made from glass aren’t recyclable because of the process used in making them.

The two one pound shops in my town have closed, but they used to have packs of disposable plastic flutes - for an entire poond. The same ones are in Waitrose for considerably more or on Wilko for £2.50 for ten -
Wilko Disposable Champagne Flutes Clear 10 pack | Wilko

I bought 6 glass flutes at Wilko a couple of weeks ago, 50p each or 6 for £2.50. Chain restaurant type.
Wilko Single Champagne Flute | Wilko

Or
TURTLEDALE Pack of 40 Reusable Plastic Champagne Flutes - £12.50 on Amazon

#7

If you are going to use plastic containers, I wouldn’t be to bothered about the temperature, or the quality of the Champagne.

#8

Last time, we had a couple of those BIG rectangular plastic storage bins - you know the kind, in bright colours from Staples (or whatever they are currently called) and a few of those sacks of ice cubes from any supermarket. The storage bins are useful afterwards.

Glasses: from IKEA, even the cheapest glass is nicer than plastic. Gift them to the church when you are done.

Minimum fuss & expense, you will have more than enough on your hands on the big day.

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#9

I’ve done something similar with plastic storage boxes and freezer blocks. If anything, the difficult bit was not over-cooling. Actually a cardboard box might have been better - corrugated cardboard is a great isulator.

#10

Apparently the trick is to make supersized iceblocks, 1 kg or more which melt slowly. The reality is nobody has a mostly empty freezer with capacity to do this - and an ice block that takes 6 hours to melt & is totally unwieldy.

Hence the supermarket ice cubes - just chuck it all away when done.

#11

Use a cool bag. More maleable. Pour a £1 pack of ice from the supermarket in the bag around the already chilled Champagne.

Will stay cool for hours.

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#12

I bought some wheely cool boxes from Costco a couple years back and they are great ! We use them for parties in the garden … you know when you used to be able to do that.
They easily hold 8-12 bottles so fill with ice and it will melt a bit leaving you with very cold bubbles .

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#13

If it really is just a couple of hours, then taking them straight from a really cold fridge, quickly wrapping in newspaper and putting in a cardboard box will probably be enough. If you really want then you can put a space blanket around the inside of the box. Most fizz is served too cold anyway.

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#14

There’s a lot of brilliant suggestions. A very simple one might be WS boxes (double layered), and a couple of picnic cool packet things (or whatever they’re called) stuck between the bottles (take out the spacing stuff). Maybe also on top the bottles a kids fluffy blanket or similar - great insulator?

If you’re really paranoid, a duvet or something over the top of the boxes, and keep them in the coolest place in the church?

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