Vacu Vin Guy Buffet Rapid Ice Wine Chiller, Sommeliers

by Vacu Vin

Product Features

• Chills room-temperature wine bottles in 5 minutes
• Reusable and unbreakable
• Decorated with popular scene by Guy Buffet
• Store in freezer
• Wipe clean with damp cloth

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 7 inches ; 9.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004SAF6
• Item model number: 388452
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,732 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #2 in Kitchen & Dining > Wine Accessories > Wine Chillers

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

We've all experienced the annoyance of room-temperature liquids when you want them icy cold. This little sleeve cools bottles of wine or juice in about five minutes. The sleeve stores in the freezer, like most reusable ice packs--just pull it out, slip it over the bottle, and spend those five minutes admiring Guy Buffet's painting of overworked sommeliers that decorates the exterior of the sleeve. The inside diameter measures a bit less than 5 inches--perfect for champagne, sparkling cider, or your favorite Chardonnay. --Jill Lightner

Product Description

Guy Buffet is one of America's most popular artists. He was born in Paris and spent much of his youth working in his parents' Paris restaurant. This wine cooler shows a band of waiters about to go forth and serve the public.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful two other ways as well, June 4, 2000

By 

wcc2 (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Vacu Vin Guy Buffet Rapid Ice Wine Chiller, Sommeliers (Kitchen)

While I've found the above mentioned 5 minutes to chill from room temperature down for drinking a bit optimistic (15 minutes is more accurate, if you also put the bottle with chiller in the freezer); there are few other viable ways of cooling a bottle down quickly that are this effortless. Slide the sleeve on (stick in freezer or not), wait, cork, and drink.

Besides this main feature, the chiller can serve two other purposes. First, after corking and pouring the first round of glasses, the chiller can serve in place of a more expensive metal bucket or crystal chiller, especially when it has a pleasing pattern or scene (most of these I have seen are a plain silver). Second, the chiller is great for bring bottles of white wine to friends' homes that you want to share immediately. Many people start with whites and if you are bringing a room-temperature white, it's annoying having to wait for it to chill in the freezer. Those 15-30 minutes may see your bottle passed over and forgotten. But with the Rapid Ice chiller, you can arrive with a bottle that's ready to drink immediately, even if traveling to your friends' took a while.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chill The Wine & Cut The Whine, December 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Vacu Vin Guy Buffet Rapid Ice Wine Chiller, Sommeliers (Kitchen)

This soft, pliable, unbreakable wine chiller from Vacu Vin is a whimsical yet practical idea. Notice I omitted the adjective "rapid". It does take a bit longer than 5 minutes to suitably chill a completely warm bottle of wine or sparkling cider, depending on the bottle size and the sipper's preferences.

The first time a good friend of ours gifted us with a pleasant Zinfandel, his interest was so piqued as I took the chilling sleeve from the freezer, placed the bottle in and told him we could start tasting in about 10 minutes, that he just kept staring at the chiller throughout our conversation! And, Guy Buffet's comical sommeliers cleverly help waiting time fly by. As a side bar, we also have used this as an emergency ice pack. My son had grazed his arm on a hot oven rack, I grabbed it out of the freezer and slid it over my sons forearm. Worked like a charm.

Whether for wine or whine, these make artistically practical gifts for you, perhaps on boss's day, or for that person that just has everything!

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very smart product, great gift, August 8, 2000

By 

Eric Antonow (Palo Alto, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vacu Vin Guy Buffet Rapid Ice Wine Chiller, Sommeliers (Kitchen)

Talk about a problem to solve. You buy a bottle of white wine or somebody unexpectedly brings one over and you have to wait (oh no!) 20 minutes for it to chill. Seems a bit pathetic but that modest delay can crush the spirit, a veritable purgatory. I agree with the other reviewer that 5 minutes is a bit ambitous, but in 10 the bottle is ready to rumble. This, along with its cousin the 'wine saver' are two of the best inexpesive gifts for people that drink wine. Because many folks already have the wine saver, this is a less risky gifting venture -- I promise they won't have it and they'll think that it's brilliant. Lastly, the second use -- keeping an open bottle cold during dinner -- is a great alternative to the ice bucket and takes much less room on the table.