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 it’s not just them – even some drink experts do it.

Master of Wine and Wine Consultant to Aldi supermarkets, Sam Caporn, admits that she started off ‘an ice denier’, but then something happened to change her mind.

‘A friend came over for dinner and we tried out rosé both without and then with ice, and I was a convert!

‘Ice in rosé is one of my guilty pleasures, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!’

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.

He tells Metro: ‘There’s no doubt that adding ice changes the experience, often not for the better – especially with higher quality bottles. If you value craftsmanship and intended flavour of your wine, skip the ice and use smarter chilling methods.’

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.

A wine made specifically to pair with ice…

As luck would have it, I’m currently on holiday near Toulouse where Vin Piscine was born. And while I was at a Leclerc supermarket, I noticed a wine called Rosé Piscine.

You couldn’t miss it, cases of the stuff were stacked up in a gigantic tower display.

But here’s the kicker, its strapline is, ‘ABSOLUMENT AVEC LES GLACONS’ (in caps), translated as ‘ABSOLUTELY WITH ICE’

Boom. I was triggered. But I ended up buying a bottle.

I taste tasted Piscine Rosé against a dry rosé from Lidl, Chevalier de Fauvert Syrah Rosé. Both were unchilled (this was important) and ice free.

Piscine Rosé was instantly off-dry with pronounced flavours of cantaloupe melon, apricot and peach, while Lidl’s was significantly dryer with delicate notes of nectarine and tangerine.

After adding two medium-sized ice cubes to each glass, I tasted them to assess the immediate effect. Piscine Rosé had been softened in flavour, still delivering melon and stone fruit flavours while Lidl’s had all but disappeared, leaving a muted aroma and only a lightly fruity acidity on the palate.

Having waited for five minutes for the ice to partially melt, Piscine Rosé had soft and refreshing nuances of melon and peach, while Lidl’s had turned into acidic-tasting water.

In conclusion, this experiment was a win for Piscine Rosé. Wines that are built for ice accompaniment must start off naturally more pronounced in sweetness and fruit flavours, with less zestiness to them to stand up to turbo-chilling and dilution

In addition to picking the right wine, it’s also important to use the right kind of ice in your drink.

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.’

Evian it is then…

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.