In certain circles, to reach for an ice cube to plonk into your room temperature savvy b or barolo would be met with, at best, a raised eyebrow or two, at worst, a lecture on your assault on viniculture. Wine snobs are a notoriously maligned group, and for good reason. While of course there is a lot of knowledge and study required to analyse wine, all you actually need to enjoy wine is a palate and a good attitude.

But in a time where even the trendiest restaurants have dedicated ‘chilled’ red lists, we’ve been slurping down sangria for years, and Kalimotxo – that is, red wine with coke – has been unofficially declared the drink of summer (so says us) is a couple of cubes in your vino really that bad? Speaking on his podcast, ‘The Dave Chang Show’ even two-Michelin-starred chef David Chang has admitted that whenever he puts ice in his wine it ‘tastes like gold’ yet he still feels he has done ‘something horribly wrong.’

On one hand, there are certain complex drops that really benefit from respecting the ‘no ice’ rule, and many even have particular temperatures that will give you the most out of your knock off (between 12 and 18 degrees, depending on the variety). Ice will inevitably dilute your wine, and can mute the more subtle aromas, textures and flavours that winemakers painstakingly strive for. However, if the purpose of drinking your wine is to actually enjoy the experience, surely we’re at a point where what you do with your own drink is your business alone.

First things first, you can put ice in any wine. You’re a grown up. We know that most white wines are served chilled, though it’s the reds that tend to wade into muddy waters. Light-bodied varietals like gamay, pinot noir, nero d’avola, garnacha, and lambrusco can be great chilled as they are less ideal for long ageing periods and make for excellent ‘table wines.’ Though we suggest getting less hung up on the grape, and think more about the texture of the wine you’ve chosen. Delicate syrah will chill better than a bold shiraz. Cab sauv might be best reserved for the cooler months, whereas cab franc over ice would be so refreshing at a summer barbecue.

If you’re dead-set on having a chilled red, but don’t want to run the risk of diluting your wine, there are plenty of options. The first and most obvious is to chuck your wine in the fridge a few hours before you plan to drink it. Another option is to keep a stash of grapes in your freezer, which when added to your sundowner will keep it chilled without becoming watery. Or, for especially ‘grammable chill, frozen rose quartz in your rosé are perfection (just note, not all crystals are safe for adding to drinks so do a little research first). If you do decide to pop the ice into your wine, you’re gonna want to back yourself. That is, the more ice you add, the less your drink will dilute – so go big, or go home!