One of the biggest problems with wine is keeping it fresh after it's opened. Not everyone drinks the whole bottle, and it is too expensive to waste. Though wine is almost never as good when preserved as it is freshly opened, it's life can be greatly extended by proper preservation. This page will teach you how to preserve open wine.

• Red wine tends to age after opening much better than white wine. Take this into consideration when puchasing wine.

• Always keep your wine in a glass container. Other materials can react with the wine and alter it's taste.

• The carbon dioxide in sparkling wine does a good enough job of preserving itself that it can simply be placed in the fridge in it's original container and should be drinkable for several days given it is properly sealed.

• A wine that has aged too far after opening can often be used in cooking for an additional several days.

As soon as you pop the cork or seal on a bottle of wine, you've hit the point of no return - there is no going back! It is suggested that wine should be consumed within 3-7 days of opening at most, though within 24 hours is best. If you can't finish an entire bottle in one night, all you need to keep it at it's best is a refrigerator and a cork.

One of the major accelerators to the deterioration of wine is having it come in contact with air. This process is called oxidization. The less of it's surface area is exposed to air, the slower oxidization can happen.

1. Keep your opened wine in a bottle with a thin neck rather than decanted.
2. Keep your wine covered as much as possible. As soon as your are done pouring, cover it.
3. Keep your wine in the smallest glass bottle in which it will fit. It might be a good idea to keep a few spare bottles around of various sizes for this purpose.
4. Choose a tight fitting lid. Re-corking and gently tapping it sealed is a good option. Commercial wine stoppers also work well. Avoid twist-on caps or other materials like plastic wrap as then tend to let air into the bottle.
5. Store wine in an upright position. This exposes as little surface area as possible. When the bottle is laid on it's side, more surface area is exposed.
6. Vacuum seal the wine when possible. A vacuum sealer can be bought at your local brew or kitchen supply store and is a great tool for any frequent wine drinker.
7. Invest in a commercial product such as a nitrogen gas injector. Nitrogen is heavier than oxygen and will float to the bottom, blocking oxygen from access to the wine.

It is also important to always keep your wine in a glass container. Other materials can react with the wine, altering it's color and taste, often ruining the wine. Glass is non-reactive and will keep wine at it's best.

The deterioration of wine can also be caused by keeping it at the improper temperature. The process of oxidization happens faster at higher temperatures. Keeping the wine cold will slow this process. The easiest way to do this, of course, is to pop it in the refrigerator. This is more important for white wine, which should always be kept in the fridge. Most red wine ages well, so it should be kept cool but does not necessarily need to be placed in the fridge.

While colder is better, too cold can also do damage, so resist the urge to place wine in the freezer.

Light tends to deteriorate wine faster than a bottle kept out of direct light. This is why many wine bottles are colored green or brown rather than left clear. Turn off the lights in the cellar, and keep wine coolers out of direct sunlight. When selecting a replacement bottle, try to find a tinted glass, place a cloth over the bottle, or use a wine cozy.

For best results, drink wine as quickly as possible. Always place wine in the smallest bottle it will fit to keep the surface exposed to as little air as possible. Keep wine out of direct light and always seal the lid as best you can. Preserved wine is almost never as good as a freshly opened bottle, but preserving can greatly extend it's life.