I can’t stand when people put ice in their wine — it’s so uncouth

Hands down, the question I get asked most often as a drinks writer is: ‘Can I add ice to my wine?’

Some see it as an inexcusable faux pas, the wine equivalent of blowing your nose into a napkin at a fine dining restaurant. Others are calling it ‘Vin Piscine’, aka ‘swimming pool wine’.

This is after the southwestern French trend of serving white or rosé in a large round glass filled with so much ice, it looks like the wine is taking a dip in a pool.

In my opinion, this chic name has given ice-droppers a get out of jail free card to avoid looking uncouth. A few of my mates slip ice cubes into their wine when they think I’m not looking. They used to have the decency to look embarrassed, now they say, ‘ahh, Vin Piscine!’

But should you actually put ice in wine?

You’ve probably gathered that I’m an ice-in-wine snob.

As I see it, plonking a melty iceberg into a glass of carefully crafted wine is a form of vandalism; like watching someone slowly key a vintage Aston Martin.

You see, as the ice thaws, it dilutes the wine and reduces the concentration of the beautiful flavour expression, throwing off the carefully curated balance of acids, aromatics and texture. You might as well top up your glass of Château Petrus with Coke Zero – it’s basically the same thing. 

This isn’t just me throwing ice out of my pram though, Dr Ian Whitehead, a flavour scientist who has more than 20 years’ of experience in the industry, agrees that for higher-quality wines, it’s a no-no.

One of the chilling methods Dr Whitehead is referring to is an ice bucket filled with cold water, ice and salt (to fast-track the chilling process). Or, you could always pop a bottle in the freezer, wrapped in a wet paper towel for 25 minutes.

Having said all that, there are a few exceptions to the rule.

If you’re drinking a fruity, off-dry white or rosé on a really hot day, adding a couple of ice cubes is acceptable. Why? Because slightly dilute, cold wine wins over warm wine, as it’s closer to how the wine was intended to be served.

Typically, wines with more sweetness work best with ice-chilling, as Dr Whitehead explains: ‘Sugar is a flavour buffer, in sensory science, residual sugar (unfermented sugar left in the wine), counterbalances both the acidity and dilution, allowing the wine to retain an impression of body and fruit even when significantly chilled.’

With that in mind, sweet or off-dry wines are the ideal match for ice, think Moscato d’Asti, Demi Sec Champagne, German Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Californian blush wines. These have higher sugar levels and bolder aromatic flavour compounds to counter the dilution.

Do yourself a favour and avoid heavily-oaked Chardonnays or ultra-dry wines like Picpoul de Pinet, Pinot Grigio or Provence Rosé. Ice will turbo-chill them, drown out their delicate fruit flavours and put their acidity and bitterness on blast.

Bigger ice cubes melt more slowly and defer dilution. As, by contrast, ‘finely crushed ice is the fastest route to watery wine,’ explains Dr Whitehead.

He also cautions us to pay attention to the type of water we use to make the ice, warning: ‘Ice made from hard water will harm the flavour more than soft water, while heavily chlorinated tap water with give you a literal ‘swimming pool wine’, and not in a good way.’