French Wine Cooler

Half the pleasure of a bottle is the moment it comes to the table sweating in a bucket of ice, and this French cooler was made for exactly that evening. Found in Normandy, it is a footed metal bucket with a flared mouth and a ring handle on each side, the vintage kind you would have seen in a French brasserie. Packed with ice, the metal carries the chill straight to the glass, and the ring handles let it travel from the sideboard to the table without a fuss. Sylvie sets it out at the start of dinner with a bottle wedged in ice, and it stays there, glinting, until the last glass is poured.