The Only Time It's Actually Acceptable To Serve Wine Over Ice
If you ask most wine connoisseurs, serving the alcoholic beverage with ice is an absurd thought. However, according to Ramon Manglano, wine director of NYC-based, Michelin-starred restaurant The Musket Room, there are a few instances where wine pairs nicely with a bit of ice. "It's only beneficial to serve wine over ice at certain times, for example, if you're using it as a mixer, like a white wine spritz," Manglano said exclusively to Mashed. A white wine spritz is a chilled beverage filled halfway with wine and mixed with club soda or lemon-lime soda. Usually, it's garnished with a lime on the rim.
"In Spain, a semi-famous drink is made by pouring Coca-Cola over a cheap table wine," Manglano continued. This beverage is called Kalimotxo, and its origins can be traced to 1920s Algorta. Furthermore, it can be helpful to mix ice with wine when in a hot environment, according to Manglano. Beyond this, though, adding ice to wine isn't typically a good idea.
Why it's usually a bad idea to use ice in your wine
"If you're drinking anything more sophisticated, [ice] will merely dilute or possibly damage what you're drinking," Manglano told Mashed. If you prefer your wine to have an extra cold kick, you must drink it quickly before the ice is able to melt. Furthermore, you should only add a small amount of ice to minimize the possibility of dilution. In some instances, however, people enjoy their wine a bit diluted, including people whose stomach becomes upset when drinking the acidic beverage.
Luckily, there are other available methods to chill your wine without loading it with ice. You could put your bottle in a cooling sleeve, add frozen grapes before you drink, or place a chill stick inside to reduce its temperature when a cooler or freezer isn't immediately available. If you're camping or in another outdoor environment, you can dip your bottle in a river or other form of running water to cool it off. For the most simple method, you can wrap up your bottle in cool, wet paper towels.