A wine you should absolutely have with ice
Hi, I’m a sommelier, and I say GET THE ICE CUBES.
Summertiiiiiiiime, and the livin is easy! And by livin, I mean drinking wine with ice cubes.
Oh no! I’m a sommelier saying you can drink wine with ice cubes! How dare I!
Guys, guess what. Drinking wine is not that serious.
Here’s the reality: No matter what you’re drinking—wine, whiskey, Diet Coke—ice cubes are going to water down your drink. So yes, adding ice cues to your wine will cause it to water down and it will change the structure and complexity of what makes wine, well, wine. Trust me, I get it. I understand the atrocities.
But, if you’re drinking that wine rather quickly and it’s a hot summer day…maybe it won’t even have time to water down too much? Better yet, there are even areas of the world and popular styles of wine that are meant to be served with lots and lots of ice. And one of those styles is—shocker—rosé!
Popularized in Saint Tropez, rosé piscine is a trend of pouring rosé over large goblets of ice. Rosé piscine translates to “swimming pool rosé” which seems rather fitting, don’t you think?
Now there are some brands that have taken advantage of the trend, but that does not mean you have to purchase that exact rosé in order to enjoy the trend. Really you can replicate this with any of your favorite rosé brands. Or, honestly? Feel free to get crazy with any of your favorites. My beach bag wine of choice is a crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and I am not against throwing a few ice cubes in my wine tumbler. I also think this could be delightful for an apéro hour with some of your favorites sparklers, like a pét-nat, our June wine for our 2026 challenge!
But really, if you want to summer like a true French person in Saint Tropez, grab the rosé. And be sure to let anyone who makes fun of you know that you are truly summering in the European spirit, and they are the ones that need to get on board.
