Can I let a chilled bottle of Champagne warm up, then store it at room temperature?
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Dear Dr. Vinny,
I was gifted a bottle of chilled Champagne, but I don’t have the refrigerator space to store it. Will I ruin the bottle if I let it warm up, then store it at room temperature in a dark place?
—Jane, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Dear Jane,
Your bottle will be just fine. Like red and white wines, bubbles can be chilled, brought to room temperature and then chilled again without an issue. That said, in the long term, it’s best to keep all your wine bottles in ideal storage conditions—significantly cooler and more humid than a typical room. If you can, investing in a dedicated wine fridge, or a full-blown cellar, is the way to go.
There’s nothing wrong with keeping a bottle at room temperature for a little while and then chilling it again before you’re ready to serve the wine. Just make sure it doesn’t get too hot—above 80° F or so—or your wine could cook.
It’s a common mistake to keep bottles of Champagne on top of the fridge, or in kitchen cabinets near the stove, where the temperature can fluctuate more than most people realize. Depending on where you live and the time of year, it may even be OK to keep your bottle in the garage. Just be careful not to let your wine get too cold and freeze.
It’s a good thought to keep your wine in a dark place. It’s possible for wine, especially white and sparkling wine, to suffer from a phenomenon called light strike. That happens when ultraviolet rays trigger chemical reactions that can degrade desirable aromatic compounds and create undesirable sulfur compounds. Thankfully, sparkling wine bottles are thick, and usually made of green or amber glass, which will help protect your wine.
Of course, there’s one way to avoid this conundrum entirely. The next time you’re gifted a chilled bottle of bubbles, simply open it and enjoy the wine with whoever gave it to you.
While you’re not obligated to open a bottle someone brought as a gift (and gift-givers shouldn’t expect that their recipient open the bottle to enjoy on the spot), I often like to enjoy a gifted bottle with the person who brought it. While it can be tempting to save a nice bottle for a later occasion, there’s something to be said for opening the wine if you’ve got it. You can always get another bottle.
Plus, that way, you don’t have to worry about finding a spot in your fridge or cellar!
—Dr. Vinny
