One of the first things you learn behind a bar is alcohol tastes better when it's cold. It's what you say to people who complain that you've put too much ice in their vodka and Coke. It helps that, as a general rule, it's true. But not always. Take wine, for example. Reds usually want to be served just south of room temperature. For me, rosés can go straight from the fridge to the trashcan (it is possible that I just haven't met the right one for my tastes. Theoretically, anyway), and whites are comfortable in the ballpark of 4-7 degrees Celsius. What showed me that the majority of Edinburgh bartenders are probably more into cocktails than wine was when one of them filled an 18oz wine glass with ice and soda and then stirred it for thirty seconds before pouring the wine straight from the fridge. At least his heart's in the right place.

That was five minutes ago. My £5-plus glass of Australian Sauvignon Blanc still tastes like chilled grape juice, which is all well and good, but I'm fairly sure I ordered wine.