Dear Dr. Vinny,
I had a New Year’s party, and everyone brought bottles of Champagne and white wine and put them in the fridge. Now that the holidays are over, I’d like to free up some fridge space and put the unopened bottles back on the shelf for another time. Will I ruin the wines by letting them warm back up to room temperature now that they’ve been chilled down?
—Samantha, Westchester County, N.Y.
Dear Samantha,
Your wines should be perfectly fine. You won’t damage wines by chilling, unchilling and chilling them again. That said, I’d try not to do it over and over again—consistent, cool storage is best for wine.
I think part of the concern about chilling and unchilling wine might come from the beer world. Beer (especially in clear bottles) can get “light-struck” or “skunked,” so keeping bottles in the fridge, where it’s dark most of the time, is a nifty way to minimize the risk. While wines, especially white wines in clear bottles, can suffer from light strike, it tends to be much less of an issue.
The main concern when it comes to wine and temperature is letting your bottles get too hot. If that happens, they can be heat damaged, or “cooked.” Just make sure your shelf where you plan to keep the bottles doesn’t get too warm, and remember that even standard room temperature is too warm for long-term wine storage. (And above the stove or refrigerator and in many closets is definitely too warm!) If you can, it’s always best to invest in a dedicated wine fridge.
—Dr. Vinny
