One of my obsessions for years now has been the insane orthodoxy of always serving red wine at “room temperature” — no matter the conditions in the “room.”

In Southern Europe the average no a/c room these days may be something like 80 degrees F — a temperature that makes red wine taste like barbecue cleaner or some other household product not fit for mammalian consumption.

Yet, red wine is still often served way too warm on both sides of the Atlantic. It seems like with climate change and the ice caps melting, some restaurants, trattoria, and bistros are getting skimpy with the ice ! (Saving it for the end times?!)