(Photo: Danny Kim)

Wine buckets swallow up cupboard space and are too big to tote to that last-gasp Indian-summer picnic, anyway. The Corkcicle ($24.95 at Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store, 365 State St., nr. Bond St., Boerum Hill; 718-522-9848), however, stows in a freezer, rinses easily, and rapidly chills bottles without diluting the blend. The icicle-shaped spear, which you insert into a wine bottle immediately after pouring your first glass, is made of nontoxic gel encased in BPA-free plastic. It maintains the optimal temperature for whites—about 50 degrees—for 45 minutes, but can also cool reds to cellar temperature in ten minutes flat.

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• Archive: “Best Bets”
• Table of Contents: Oct 3, 2011 issue of New York | Subscribe!