You say "In any case, it probably is not the best approach to keep a bottle in the very cold temperatures of a refrigerator for weeks or months - especially if it is an expensive wine." I understand keeping unopened white wine in the fridge will slow or stop the wine from aging but other than that, what is the rationale for your answer? Does keeping a fine bottle of white wine in the fridge do any harm?
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
My recommendation is based on a preference not to store wine for lengthy periods under what could be deleterious conditions. As always with wine given its nearly infinite variation, it depends on many factors; in this case, the actual temperature and the individual wine. Refrigerators may be kept as low as 35 F. While I cannot cite specific studies to support the conclusion, common wisdom holds that this is lower than "ideal." Moreover, the door is being opened fairly or very often. That means bright light and temperature fluctuation. And what about vibration, if any?
I suppose that full bodied, powerful white wines over 14 % alcohol would be inherently better able to withstand long storage in a refrigerator, or any challenging conditions, while light, delicate, aromatic whites would not.
In the end, it's up to you, and it's difficult to predict the outcome with certainty. You could test the theory yourself by keeping a bottle of two different white wines in the fridge, and a second bottle of each in a cool, dark cellar. Open all the bottles after 3 months and evaluate in different orders under "blind" tasting conditions. I'll be interested to know the results of the experiment.
