Wine in the freezer

sparky · Post by **sparky** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 8:59 am

I popped a Narkoojee Chardy in the freezer last night in anticipation of a friend dropping in for a bevy, thinking to just chill it down for a few minutes. We decided to go with an Italian Sangi instead, and of course you know what happened next...

So halfway to work this morning I remembered, pulled a screaming wheelie and headed back home to retreive the poor frozen bottle. No visible damage done, no cork push, no broken glass.

But what's the thought - any fatal damage to the wine?

I'll probably pull the cork on it this weekend for my birthday cook-up, but what does effect does way too cold have in the short term?

bacchaebabe · Post by **bacchaebabe** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:54 pm

Hmmm, interesting. Alcohol supposedly doesn't freeze (or freezes at a much lower temp?) which is why it's quite safe to keep a bottle of Vodka in the freezer. Slightly less alcohol in wine though however obviously enough to not freeze up and break the bottle and pop the cork.

I guess if you're drinking it on the weekend it should be fine but I wouldn't suggest trying this too often as it's the sudden temp changes that have the worst effect on wine.

Sharkey · Post by **Sharkey** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:45 pm

I've done the same thing a couple of times. The thawed wine seemed fine to me.

It should be ok if you drink it straight away. It may not be sealed properly after all that expansion and contraction.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:21 pm

I think ACG managed to freeze some one time. Yes, just looked it up, he froze a
St Urbans Hof Piesporter Goldtropfchen Kabinett Riesling 2007, no apparent damage I think, you can look it up over at the Australian Wine Review should you wish.

Mahmoud Ali · Post by **Mahmoud Ali** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:32 pm

My experience with accidental freezing of white wine suggests that there wont be any noticeable damage to the wine. Many years ago I read a piece by a Wine Spectator columnist who talked about freezing his wines. Because he had a lot of wine samples to taste and was unable to finish the bottles he experimented with freezing them. He felt that there was no appreciable difference in the wines when he opened them weeks later.

A very interesting article but I was never able to conduct the experiment. Most bottles are finished off the very same evening that they are opened, if not the next day.

Cheers.......Mahmoud.

Waiters Friend · Post by **Waiters Friend** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:21 am

I agree (and based on unfortunate experience) that yes, a frozen wine can be drinkable when thawed, but I also suggest you might have shortened it's lifespan - drink it early.

However, I have also done this with sparkling wine (without breaking the bottle). Proceed with EXTREME CAUTION even if you have thawed the wine fully, as it still might go "pffffffft" all over the room.

Cheers

Allan

Cloudy · Post by **Cloudy** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:46 pm

The owner of Ultimo Cellars once told me that a whole container load of a very expensive white wine froze on its way to Australia and he was biting his nails when he thawed a bottle from the batch and pulled the cork. He said the wine was fine and he had never been so relieved in all his life.