Embracing Ice in Wine: The Casual Approach to Wine-drinking in Hot Queensland

Iced wine on a summer day is very enjoyable and ice clinking in a glass sounds so refreshing. Surely it can’t be all that bad?

It started out as a joke. A bit of a laugh. A tribute to the inner-bogan-larrikin I’ve been gradually coming to terms with since I hit 30 and stopped trying to be more sophisticated than I actually am.

But it’s gone beyond a joke now. It’s getting out of hand. I’m thinking of doing it in public. At nice places, with elegant people. And I’m worried I can’t stop.

I dial a legitimate expert.

“Peter,” I say, when he answers. “I have a problem.”

He waits. He’s a wine guy. This could be going anywhere.

“I’ve started putting ice in my wine.”

Generous peals of laughter gush forth like the foam from a freshly sabraged bottle of fancy Frenchy. I’m not surprised. I’m on the phone with Peter Marchant, a wine guy with chops (certified sommelier, Queensland wine judge, past member of the national executive for Sommeliers Australia, etc). Eventually, the ferment of his amusement subsides, he catches his breath, and asks me what sounds like a significant question.

“OK, OK, OK. What colour?”

(Turns out I do still care about appearing more sophisticated than I actually am, because I gloss over the cab sav I washed down with a few cubes before Christmas.)

“White,” I reply, before specifying the wine is still white wine. Still. I take care to emphasise this as I hope it may help me recover some of my reputation. At least white is served cold, after all.

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“Look,” Marchant explains. “You can do whatever the hell you like to your wine in private, but I’d think twice before doing it at a nice place, in front of people, or with a good wine someone’s taken time and trouble with.”

The ice freezes out the flavour, he says, dilutes the drink and interrupts the path of the plonk out of the glass, into your mouth and over your tongue. Why punish your palate, and ruin the wine?

Because it’s hot in Queensland in summer, I say. And the sound of ice clinking in a glass sounds refreshing. And surely it can’t be all that bad; it’s not like I’m icing my beer …

Picking up on my disappointment, my patient sommelier friend cheers me up by recounting the many times he’s seen someone sheepishly ask for ice, only to discover dining companions relieved to have license to follow suit.

Like dinner at 5pm and rissoles, putting ice in wine is a common, clandestine Aussie custom, one that recognises the cask-white-straight from-the-fridge-swillers who remember when olive oil was sold at pharmacies, celebrated the Cheerio sausage, and elected not to pronounce the ‘h’ in chardonnay. I feel seen, and nostalgic for mum’s Coolabah, and strangely proud to be less of a wine snob than I used to be.

The fact is, iced white wine on a balmy day can be more enjoyable to drink than lukewarm white wine, especially if it’s being enjoyed in the sunshine of the sunshine state; the same sun that gives Queenslanders that “it’s too hot to take anything too seriously” edge. Yes, it’s a bit bogan maybe, but bit-bogan is part of my heritage; who am I to pretend otherwise?

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Then comes a revelation, from the wine guy himself.

“And hey, on some occasions, in some circumstances, you could say ice in your white wine might actually improve it.”

Wait. What?

Ice will mask flavours, he explains, so your experience of an “average, commercially made, beige white wine” could be improved with ice. Especially if it’s hot, and especially if you’re dining alfresco. These sorts of wines don’t have the same complexity as their more cultivated companions. Generally, the more effort someone has put into making the wine, the less you want to mess with it, especially if that involves adding flavour-diluting ice.

“What if,” I contemplate, “I made ice cubes out of the good white wine I was drinking?”

“Look,” he proposes, with a hint of professional hospitality, “why don’t you try smaller pours, smaller glasses, and an ice-bucket? Because when it comes to wine, that’s usually where the ice goes – in the bucket.”

I appreciate his advice, and we conclude our conversation with a fun story about the wine slushie trend of the late 20-teens and his reminder that “room temperature” during summer in Queensland is quite different from the European “room temperature” at which wine is ideally served. He keeps his wine fridge set to about 12C for this very reason. Now he gets to enjoy reds that quickly reach their 18C peak, and whites that are just about perfect or could be chilled a bit more in the fridge for five minutes (the ideal white wine temperature is between eight to 13C).

“And if you can’t wait that five minutes for your glass of white wine,” he finishes, “then your problem probably isn’t the ice.”

Katherine Feeney is a journalist and broadcaster who presents Afternoons on ABC Radio Brisbane

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About the Author: Chris Lehoux

Meet Chris Lehoux, an experienced wine connoisseur and dedicated blogger with a deep passion for all things wine-related. With years of expertise in the industry, Chris shares insightful wine reviews, valuable wine tasting tips, expert pairing advice, and captivating tales of vineyard visits. Join Chris on a journey through the world of wine, where every sip is an adventure waiting to be savored!