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Can wine get too cold?
(Image credit: Can wine get too cold?)

Can wine get so cold that it actually damages the wine? Tony Aspler answers that question for Decanter.

Ask Decanter: Can wine get too cold?

I put a small thermometer in the cabinet and recorded consistent temperatures below freezing, going down to -7°C. Can these conditions spoil the wine? I’ve opened many bottles since and haven’t found any faults yet.

Tony Aspler, for Decanter, replies: Before checking your wines, I’d check the accuracy of your thermometer. Wine begins to freeze at about -6°C (the higher the wine’s alcohol content, the lower the freezing point).

If ice forms in the bottle, the pressure through expansion will push the cork above the lip of the neck. In extreme cases this could break the hermetic seal, cause leakage and allow air in, which will oxidise the wine.

Inspect the capsules of your wines for bulging and wetness; if they look flat and dry you won’t have a problem. (Even though grapes for Canadian icewine have to be picked at -8°C, the finished wine is not impervious to freezing if temperatures are cold enough!)

Tony Aspler is is the Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Chair for Canada

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Tony Aspler
Tony Aspler
Decanter Magazine, Wine Writer & Canada Expert

Tony Aspler has been writing about wine since 1975, and has been wine columnist for The Toronto Star for 22 years. He is the author of 16 wine books, including The Wine Atlas of Canada, and three wine murder mystery novels: Blood Is Thicker than Beaujolais, The Beast of Barbaresco and Death on the Douro. In 2001, Aspler co-founded the charity Grapes for Humanity to raise money through the wine community for victims of landmines and children with disabilities. In 2007 Aspler was awarded the Order of Canada and in 2012 he was elected to the New York Media Wine Writers Hall of Fame.