Questions for sommeliers and barkeeps

[mollyringle]

(Confession: I misspelled "sommelier" two different ways before finding the right spelling.)

Dear LJ Genies,

Is it true that you shouldn't re-refrigerate beer and wine? (i.e., Refrigerate it, then take it out until it's room temperature, then someday put it back in the fridge again.) Even if you never open the bottles? Someone recently compared it to re-freezing food, in terms of culinary badness, saying that the refrigeration somehow changes the drink, and that therefore you shouldn't take unused wine/beer out of the fridge and put it back into storage. Anyone with expert experience or training is encouraged to enlighten me on the truth or falsity of this claim.

Thank you.

Comments

[vill.livejournal.com]

I have never heard the re-refrigeration thing about beer and wine. But the reason for not re-freezing foods that have thawed is more of a food safety one than a food quality one, since bacteria multiply as the food is thawing and then aren't killed by re-freezing the food...although depending on the food, it can affect the taste/texture, too.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Yeah - when re-freezing, you're actually changing a food from liquid to solid (or parts of it anyway), and most stuff will turn to mush when thawed again. But sealed liquid going between 35 and 65 F...? Hmm.