Red wine in the fridge? [SOLVED]

Rikushix · December 2010

I bought a bottle of zinfandel with my girlfriend about three weeks ago. I put it in the fridge for the evening but we never ended up drinking it, and I haven't had a use for it since she left.

Today a coworker and I were talking about having a dinner party at her place, and I mentioned that I had a fantastic zinfandel in my fridge I would bring over. She made a face and said that red wines should never be stored in the fridge.

Now, I know enough about wine to know that red wine is, subjectively speaking, "better" at room temperature, as opposed to white wines, which are nice chilled. However, this bottle of wine has been in my fridge for three weeks. From a casual wine-lover's perspective, have I changed this wine in any way by putting it in my (very cold) fridge for an extended period of time? Or am I fine bringing it to a party if it's room temperature by the time it's served?

edit: To clarify, it's unopened.

LaPuzza · December 2010

You haven't ruined it, I wouldn't think. A cold fridge (33 degrees) might be more hospitable than what it went through in shipment. I'd still suggest storing it out of the fridge and moving it there before drinking, as opposed to store-and-forget. If I'd made that face, it would be more about drinking 35 degree red than storing it that way.

Dark Moon · December 2010

It'll be fine. Zinfadel can be served slightly chilled (like, 15 minutes in the fridge just prior to serving) as it is a lighter, sweeter red.

Figgy · December 2010

White zinfandel is served chilled, like any other white wine.

Red zinfandel is served at room temperature.

Rikushix wrote: »

Or am I fine bringing it to a party if it's room temperature by the time it's served?

If it's white zinfandel (read the label, and it will be pink), leave it in the fridge. Your friend is right in that red wines are not stored in the fridge, but chances are your wine is a white.

Robman · December 2010

It won't be ruined at all, storing it in the fridge for 3 weeks won't affect the wine at all. Just let it warm and let it breathe before serving, and all will be good.

But don't serve it to that coworker of yours, who is too snobby to drink a red that has dared to touch the inside of a refrigerator.

Druhim · December 2010

Your coworker is being silly. The only way storing it in the fridge (presumably unopened) for a few weeks would noticeably hurt it is if it was a really fine bottle of wine. I'm assuming you didn't spend more than $50 on it, so you should be just fine. But like others have said, check whether it's red or white zin to better determine what temp to serve it at. And if for some reason it has been open (even if recorked) for several weeks, then yeah it would be best to ditch it. It wouldn't be harmful to drink, it would just taste bad.

Movitz · December 2010

I even store my opened bottles of whine in the fridge. It makes them last for 5-6 days instead of 2-3. Just pop the glasses in the microwave for 10s before serving.

An unopened bottle will be fine for a couple of months. If you are storing it for years to mature and develop you need to control temp but that's a science in itself and depends on the wine.

The Cat · December 2010

'room temperature' is properly defined as about 18C (64F), so if the ambient temp is warmer I don't see any problem with chilling it down a bit. It gets up over 30 (86F) here in summer, and 30C wine of any sort is absolutely foul. Warm reds are way worse than warm whites, too.

There aren't any storage issues, provided the lid was sealed properly.

Shoe-Eater · December 2010

I cant imagine keeping wine in the fridge is any worse than storing it in a cool wine cellar.

However, regardless of where you store it(except direct sunlight, which is bad), It's Extremely important to always store your wine bottles laying down. By keeping your wine bottles down, the wine will keep the cork moist. When bottles are stored standing for an extended period the cork can dry out letting air(oxygen) into your wine, and basically start turning it to vinegar.

Also it's recommended to spin your bottles(on their axis) every once in a while, but that step is less important.

Rikushix · December 2010

Thanks all, great advice. Looks like we'll be enjoying zinfandel this christmas! I'll take it out of the fridge the day of when it's needed.

And yes I've been storing it on its side. Luckily I know enough about wine to remember that much :P

Midshipman · December 2010

Shoe-Eater wrote: »

I cant imagine keeping wine in the fridge is any worse than storing it in a cool wine cellar.

However, regardless of where you store it(except direct sunlight, which is bad), It's Extremely important to always store your wine bottles laying down. By keeping your wine bottles down, the wine will keep the cork moist. When bottles are stored standing for an extended period the cork can dry out letting air(oxygen) into your wine, and basically start turning it to vinegar.

Also it's recommended to spin your bottles(on their axis) every once in a while, but that step is less important.

Side bottle storage is only important if you are keeping the bottles for many years and don't have decent humidity in your storage area. If you are just hanging on to bottles for a couple months while waiting for a good occasion to open them, it makes no difference at all.

Diorinix · December 2010

For a personal taste note, I actually prefer the drier reds served much cooler (40-45 F) than most other people do. I find it dulls the alchoholic taste but still lets the some of the more complex flavor notes shine through than if you go any cooler (35-40 F). Sweeter reds, by that same token, I prefer served cooler than conventional wisdom (50-55 F). Straight up room temp is a complete myth of how to properly serve red wines anyway. Consider the temperature of a cool cellar - if room temperature is mid-60's, go down 5-10 degrees from that. There's the proper serving temperature for red wines.

Esh · December 2010

If it's unopened there's absolutely no reason to keep it in the fridge. Storage should be around 55 degrees for a red like that. It's not going to hurt it, but there's no reason to.

Also, because fridges are a dry environment, you most definitely want to keep it on it's side if you're going to wait until Christmas to open it. Being in there will rapidly speed up the drying out of the cork.

Daenris · December 2010

Someone posted this in a wine thread previously and I've found it useful:

http://wineintro.com/basics/temperatures.html

As has been pointed out in this thread the "room temperature" that red wine is supposed to be served at generally isn't actually room temperature. On that chart, zinfandel is at 59 F, which would be a pretty cool room. So there's really not any reason to store it in the fridge unless your house is extremely warm, but you should chill it just a bit before serving.

Rikushix · December 2010

Esh wrote: »

If it's unopened there's absolutely no reason to keep it in the fridge. Storage should be around 55 degrees for a red like that. It's not going to hurt it, but there's no reason to.

Also, because fridges are a dry environment, you most definitely want to keep it on it's side if you're going to wait until Christmas to open it. Being in there will rapidly speed up the drying out of the cork.

Oh I'm aware I didn't need to put it in the fridge. I had more room in my fridge than on my countertops, so

I've taken it out.

And great link Daenris, thanks.

Penny Arcade

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Red wine in the fridge? [SOLVED]

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