Just Let People Put Ice in Their Fucking Wine
The Wine Industry Keeps Missing the Point
Yesterday, I watched a video on Instagram where Wine Enthusiast asked a group of wine industry folks, "Does ice belong in wine?"
The overwhelming response was some variation of 'no,' with varying levels of condescension.
One person said, “Straight to jail.”
Another said, “No, that’s repulsive. Just chill your wine like a normal person.”
Really? Repulsive? That’s a bit of a strong reaction. The comments weren’t much better. Comments like:
“You water down the wine with the ice. It doesn’t just make it cold. It dilutes it.”
“I would NEVER, and if you do, I will judge you HARD, but you do you.”
“Ice [is] for old ladies sitting outside drinking Chablis.”
And the one that really put my hackles up: “Ice in wine is an insult to the winemaker.”
There were a few responses in the video that were in favor of ice in wine, but only one really spoke to what I believe the answers “should” have been:
“If you buy the bottle, you drink it however you want. Anything that makes you drink wine instead of beer.”
And that’s the hill I will also die on.
The Judgment Is the Problem
Listen, I’m not mad that people who are clearly on the advanced end of wine aren’t into putting ice into their own wine glass. What I am mad about is the intense judgment coming from these people.
One commenter hit the nail on the head:
“The tone of the responses and some of the comments do not pass the vibe check and are part of the reason why people turn away from wine.”
*Nods head vigorously*
The wine industry looooooves to wring its hands and ask, “Oh nooooo, wine isn’t selling! How do we make it more accessible?” But then in the next breath say something like, “If you enjoy wine the ‘wrong’ way, you are an embarrassment and insulting the winemaker for liking what you like.”
My friends, I’m going to hold your hand while I say this: you CANNOT have it both ways.
As I said in a comment on this post, “Anything that makes you drink wine instead of beer” was the only response that matters in this discussion. We really have to lower the barrier to entry with wine if we want more people to drink it. If someone at the beginning of their wine journey wants to put ice in their wine, then fucking go for it. We can ‘educate’ until we’re blue in the face about dilution and structure and blah blah blah, but someone new to wine gives literally zero shits about that. And I can guarantee that someone who knows wine isn’t putting ice in a ‘nice’ bottle anyway.
If someone is putting ice in wine, it’s because they want something cold and wet and NOW. And I will kiss them on the mouth for choosing wine instead of a cocktail or hard seltzer.
We Can and Must Do Better
I, admittedly, used to be one of those dicks who would judge someone when they requested ice in their wine, but then I gently removed the stick from my ass and realized that if my goal is to encourage more people to drink more wine, then I need to stop being such a douche about it and let people enjoy wine the way they want to enjoy wine.
If someone seems receptive to it, I might kindly explain how to “properly” chill wine and get into how ice can affect its texture and flavor. But if they just want to enjoy their glass and move on with their day, then I will too.
Because what we are doing when we judge people for something like putting ice in their wine is shutting down their experience. And the result isn’t that they will then go and “drink wine correctly,” whatever that means; it’s that they probably won't drink wine at all! And I think you’ll agree that that is super counterproductive to what we are trying to do here.
Let’s Also Remember Who is Likely Putting Ice in Their Wine
I feel like this whole thing should be a non-issue, by the way.
Someone at the beginning of their wine journey is probably not putting ice into a bottle that would be “ruined” by it. They’re more than likely drinking affordable, easily accessible (read: mass-produced, cheap) wine that frankly can probably benefit from a little dilution.
And the folks who are further along in their wine journey already know which wines they “shouldn’t” put ice into. They’ll drink those wines at the right temperature, in the right glass, with the right food, on the right day, nary an ice cube to be seen.
Also worth noting: This outrage and condescension over ice in wine feels especially absurd when you remember that the very cultures we revere for “doing wine right” have been happily chilling and diluting their wine for as long as wine’s been around (probably).
Someone DM’d me saying, “There’s this whole French thing called a ‘piscine’ (literally ‘pool’) where people drink Champagne in a big wine glass with several ice cubes…”
EXACTLY.
This DM made me laugh so hard because, to this person’s (unspoken) point, the French, Italians, Spanish—basically the cultures that wine people love to cite as the pinnacle of wine culture—all have some version of wine-plus-ice or wine-plus-sparkling-water baked into everyday drinking.
Piscines! Spritzes! ¡Tinto de verano! are all normal, casual ways people enjoy wine when it’s hot and they want something refreshing.
Winemakers Are Not Mad, Actually
When I took this whole rant to Instagram Stories, as is my way, I asked my winemaker friends: “Would you be insulted if someone put ice in the wine you made?”
So far, over 90% of responses from over 50 winemakers and wine professionals were:
“Nope. I’m just glad they’re drinking my wine.”
I realize this is a small sample size, and I suspect that the remaining percentage of responders that said “the MOST insulted, how very dare” (including my beer drinking husband) were really just being contrary for contrary sake, but my point here is that it seems clear that we really shouldn’t care what people are doing with wine they’ve purchased with their hard-earned money.
Winemakers aren’t getting mad when people make sangria with their wine, or pair it with Halloween candy, or drink it out of a red Solo cup, so why are the rest of us getting all hot and bothered about it?
Yes, we can, and should, invite people to enjoy wine with good stemware, at the proper temperature, with thoughtful pairings, etc etc., but it’s also wildly unrealistic that every person who buys our wine is going to enjoy it in the “optimal” conditions, and we shouldn’t judge them when they can’t (or won’t).
The TL;DR
If the wine industry actually wants to be more welcoming, accessible, and relevant, we really need to stop policing enjoyment.
And for the record, lowering the barrier to entry doesn’t mean dumbing things down and infantilizing the newbs. I had a whole conversation with Warner Boin of Confidence Uncorked on my podcast (to be released this week!) about how we need to meet people where they are and not shame them for how they get there.
If ice in wine is what it takes for someone to choose wine, I’m calling that a win. And as we’ve seen, so are the winemakers.
I'm a winemaker and I've put ice in my wine. I don't make wine to be iced but sometimes you just gotta cool it fast. But I never leave the ice in to melt completely. Usually just for a few minutes to get it down to the right temperature and then I'll fish the ice out, minimising dilution.
But then, I've also blended two completely different wines that I felt were unbalanced apart. You'd be amazed at the number of times we've added drops of lemon juice to wines when we've found them too sweet (esp. because of dosage in sparkling wines and also..... pretty much any Prosecco).
In the end, the only thing that counts is that the wine gives you pleasure at a price that you're comfortable with. Everything else is just noise.