Can Wine be Re-chilled? Well, Maybe

Here’s a question that I am often asked: Can you chill a bottle of white, rosé, or sparkling wine, multiple times? The answer is simple: Yes, no, and maybe.

Great temperature fluctuations, especially over a short period of time, are generally not good for wine. But this is more a concern for long-term storage than for the occasional bottle that was chilled for a party and allowed to return to room temperature.

If a bottle is unopened, the closure is intact, and the wine was in good condition before it was chilled the first time it should be fine to put it back in storage and then chilled again before it is served. However, I wouldn’t do this with bottles I might be saving for a special occasion, nor would I do it to the same bottle more than once.

If the bottle has been opened and partially consumed, you have another concern to deal with—the destructive force of oxygen. Think of a sliced apple that turns brown as it oxidizes. The same thing happens to wine. You won’t notice a difference in color (that takes some time), but a wine’s fresh fruit flavors begin to diminish the moment the bottle is opened. Eventually it will taste lifeless and flat—which will happen a lot faster at an outdoor party in the heat of the summer.

If it’s a bottle you were really enjoying and it’s not totally cooked by the sun, don’t give up just yet. Replace the cork or use a stopper—there are multiple kinds, including sparkling wine stoppers—then refrigerate the bottle as soon as possible. It may still be fine for at least a couple of days. If not, use it for cooking or toss it down the drain.

In all of these instances you can rely on your taste buds to let you know if the wine has been thermally challenged to the point of no return. If it doesn’t taste quite right, move on to the next bottle.

Tags: Wine