Overnight in the Fridge = Ruined Bottle?

Dear Daniel,

I am new to this forum, but have been following your Ha'aretz work for a
couple of years now.

I am also young (27) and inexperienced with the methods of wine storage,
etc., but have read that too hot is bad.

To keep a short story short: I bought a bottle of Yatir Mixed Red 2007
from Hinawwi winery and butchery on Carlibach in Tel Aviv. They recommended
it to me as a wine with gentle tannins and lots of fruit, which is what my
wife likes. (I am trying to prepare a special meal for her...)

Previously I had purchased your book on kosher wine for 2010, which said that the 2006
version of this wine was still young and had quite firm tannins. ( Since, I did not have it
with me at the store, I could only read it when I got home.) So I decided
to exchange that wine for another wine, the Golan Heights Pinot Noir 2005,
which seemed more suitable by your description.

I put it in the fridge overnight, which is at a relatively high
temperature, 7C, and there were no onions, smelly cheeses, or any other
potent smells, to my knowledge.

However, when I went to return it the next day the wine was rejected. The
whole store ganged up on me and said that I ruined the wine, and when I protested, the manager
threw it across the street into an outdoor trash bin! (Really! I'm not kidding.) They eventually let me
exchange it, but not without much humiliation and hardship...

Help! Did I really ruin the wine?

Thanks,

Joel

The bottle wasn't opened, correct? If so, there's no way it was ruined overnight at 7C. The IDEAL storage temperature for wine is around 12C, but if you visit the cellars in many wine producing areas you can easily get +/-5 degrees variation. Admittedly the variation in the cellars is gradual, but it's nonsense to say you ruined a wine by storing it at 7C overnight.

High temperatures are another story, but you're clearly OK on this one.

John

PS- Sorry, I don't mean to speak for Daniel, but I thought I would throw in my 2 degrees C.

What a horrid way to treat a customer! I hope you don't do business with them ever again!

Joel, Hi.....

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Second, in the vernacular: "Ain't no way that one night at that temperature was going to do the wine any harm whatsoever.
Whomever you encountered in the store should have known better than that. Even more important they should have known better than to treat a client in that fashion.

Best
Rogov

They recommended it to me as a wine with gentle tannins and lots of fruit, which is what my wife likes.

Previously I had purchased your book on kosher wine for 2010, which said that the 2006 version of this wine was still young and had quite firm tannins.

I looks to me like you caught them either in an outright lie or general ineptitude. So, they went on the offensive against you, likely to save face. Steer clear of these folks in the future.

As the others have already assured you, there was no damage done to that bottle of wine ... by you at least. Welcome to the forum, where we treat all wine fans with great respect.

-- Clark

The problem with normal refrigerators is that they don't keep a really tight temperature range and are susceptible to vibrations, both from the running of the unit and from people opening and closing all the time. Obviously, food odors can cause problems as well. This is an issue when comparing a normal refrigerator to a wine refrigerator/cellar when using for long term storage. For short term storage, normal refrigerators are fine.

The only thing the store owner could have a problem with is that wine expands and contracts with temperature. Hence, wine contracting due to lower temperature can draw air into the bottle. Wine expanding due to higher temperature can force air out of the bottle. This can certainly be a bad thing when it happens over and over, over a long period of time as air will work its way into the bottle risking oxidation and other potential problems. One night in a refrigerator is nothing. This guy is jerking your chain. I would find another supplier.

The bottle wasn't opened, correct? If so, there's no way it was ruined overnight at 7C. The IDEAL storage temperature for wine is around 12C, but if you visit the cellars in many wine producing areas you can easily get +/-5 degrees variation. Admittedly the variation in the cellars is gradual, but it's nonsense to say you ruined a wine by storing it at 7C overnight.

Doubly nonsense when you consider that many wines are brought down to a very low temperature DURING production in order to cold stabilize them.

Thanks all for your well-informed comments.

I feel relieved, and absolved of wine-murder.

Joel