How long can I keep wine in a kitchen refrigerator?

Dear Dr. Vinny,

Can you damage a bottle of Chardonnay by storing it in the refrigerator for too long? I have a friend who keeps white wine in the fridge for a year or longer.

—John, Eugene, Ore.

Dear John,

Food refrigerators are not ideal for long-term wine storage, as they are too cold and too dry compared to ideal wine storage conditions. While wine—whether red, white, sparkling or sweet—should be kept around 55° F with 60 percent relative humidity, food refrigerators tend to hover in the high 30° to low 40° range, with much lower humidity. That’s good for inhibiting bacterial growth on your leftovers, but it’s not great for corks, which can dry out.

My definition of “long-term” is more than a couple of months. After that, I’d worry that the cork might dry out, and then you run the risk of too much air getting inside the wine and oxidizing it.

If your friend’s Chardonnay is ageworthy, it’s worth noting that the cooler temperatures of a kitchen fridge will make the wine age much slower than it should—better to put that bottle in a dedicated wine fridge or cellar. On the flip side, if it’s a wine meant to be drunk soon after release, waiting months or longer to drink it isn’t going to do the wine any favors, even if it’s in the fridge.

The bottom line? Some wines will be perfectly fine after a year or more in the fridge—and too cold is better than too hot—but it’s a risk I’d avoid if you can. When it’s finally time to open that bottle, keep in mind that refrigerator temperature is considerably colder than wine serving temperature. (Yes, it’s entirely possible to serve white wine too cold!) Give your wine some time to warm up before you pour so the flavors aren’t muted.

And don’t be alarmed if you see what look like tiny pieces of sugar or glass in your wine or on the bottom of the cork. Those are just tartaric acid crystals, which sometimes form when a bottle is kept at cold temperatures for a while. They’re harmless!

—Dr. Vinny