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.
This isn’t really about ice — it’s about gatekeeping masquerading as “standards.” The condescension is the problem, not the cube. If the industry truly wants people to enter wine (and stay), shaming them at the door is a spectacularly bad strategy.
I loved your point that beginners don’t care about structure and dilution — they care about cold, refreshing, and now. And honestly? That’s how most wine has been consumed for most of history anyway. Piscines, spritzes, tinto de verano… somehow those cultures manage to love wine just fine.
Also deeply appreciate the winemaker reality check. The people actually making the stuff seem refreshingly unbothered — which tells you everything you need to know.
Let people drink the wine they bought the way they enjoy it. If they want to go deeper later, great. If not, also great. A glass enjoyed beats a glass judged every time. 🥂
Thanks! Yeah I think we all need to remember to be realistic about how our wine is actually being enjoyed by the average consumer.
We can get all high and mighty about how we enjoy our wine but all this posturing about what is right and wrong is not helping us bring in more wine drinkers, it’s actively driving them away.
We have enough problems that are out of our control (hi, climate change) without adding creating completely preventable problems ourselves.
Yes — this exactly. Gatekeeping enjoyment feels like such a strange hill to die on. If the goal is to invite more people into the world of wine, shaming how they get there does the opposite.
Meet people where they are, let curiosity lead, and save the high-and-mighty for something that actually matters (like climate change, as you said). 🍷
I've said it before, if you buy my wine, you can put whatever you want in it. It's yours. No one freaks out when someone puts an orange or lemon slice in a beer. And do we only drink spirits solo? No. Bartenders put 10 ingredients into a cocktail. But wine has to be pure. Nonsense.
We drink our beer way too cold in America to mask inferior flavor. I was told that by a German while stationed there at age 20, so I'll take his word for it, and have enjoyed my beer at room temp ever since... i digress.
While i judge no one for how they drink their wine, I think in wine it's not about quality as much as palate.
I WILL ask friendly questions. "How does it change the taste for you?" "Is it more about flavor or temperature?"
I keep a shelf of young fruity wines for my ice wineauxs, because if one of them throws ice in my Cab, then tosses it because it's bitter, I'M FLIPPING TABLES. 🤣
Cheers to POUR Choices that lead to RICH experiences!
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.
"In the end, the only thing that counts is that the wine gives you pleasure at a price that you're comfortable with." Full stop!
Standing ovation!👏
This isn’t really about ice — it’s about gatekeeping masquerading as “standards.” The condescension is the problem, not the cube. If the industry truly wants people to enter wine (and stay), shaming them at the door is a spectacularly bad strategy.
I loved your point that beginners don’t care about structure and dilution — they care about cold, refreshing, and now. And honestly? That’s how most wine has been consumed for most of history anyway. Piscines, spritzes, tinto de verano… somehow those cultures manage to love wine just fine.
Also deeply appreciate the winemaker reality check. The people actually making the stuff seem refreshingly unbothered — which tells you everything you need to know.
Let people drink the wine they bought the way they enjoy it. If they want to go deeper later, great. If not, also great. A glass enjoyed beats a glass judged every time. 🥂
— Kelly
Thanks! Yeah I think we all need to remember to be realistic about how our wine is actually being enjoyed by the average consumer.
We can get all high and mighty about how we enjoy our wine but all this posturing about what is right and wrong is not helping us bring in more wine drinkers, it’s actively driving them away.
We have enough problems that are out of our control (hi, climate change) without adding creating completely preventable problems ourselves.
Yes — this exactly. Gatekeeping enjoyment feels like such a strange hill to die on. If the goal is to invite more people into the world of wine, shaming how they get there does the opposite.
Meet people where they are, let curiosity lead, and save the high-and-mighty for something that actually matters (like climate change, as you said). 🍷
Amen!! 👏
I've said it before, if you buy my wine, you can put whatever you want in it. It's yours. No one freaks out when someone puts an orange or lemon slice in a beer. And do we only drink spirits solo? No. Bartenders put 10 ingredients into a cocktail. But wine has to be pure. Nonsense.
Preach
Sommelier here, sometimes I LOVE the ice in the wine!😍🧊
Ice just hits sometimes!
We drink our beer way too cold in America to mask inferior flavor. I was told that by a German while stationed there at age 20, so I'll take his word for it, and have enjoyed my beer at room temp ever since... i digress.
While i judge no one for how they drink their wine, I think in wine it's not about quality as much as palate.
I WILL ask friendly questions. "How does it change the taste for you?" "Is it more about flavor or temperature?"
I keep a shelf of young fruity wines for my ice wineauxs, because if one of them throws ice in my Cab, then tosses it because it's bitter, I'M FLIPPING TABLES. 🤣
Cheers to POUR Choices that lead to RICH experiences!
Plonk should have ice with no judgement. Serious wine, study first then chill out
The difficult part isn’t put ice on your wine, but skiing on that 🧊
Of course you do! It’s delicious!