This may be a silly question...

[Jackie]

Daisie23,

It's not a silly question at all. In fact, this is a pretty common question that a lot of folks have asked. The problem is that wine , once opened, starts to interact with oxygen in the air and soon goes bad. The ideal preventative is to eliminate the oxygen. What METHOD to use to eliminate oxygen is another story.... Opinions vary.

Transfering the wine into a smaller bottle is usually a good first step. A small screw-top bottle is helpful.

Then removing the oxygen can be accomplished in different ways. Some use VacuVin, a "vacuum-style" pump/cork. Myself, I keep a cannister of "Private Reserve" on hand, which is basically nitrogen in an aerosol can. A couple of squirts of this into the open wine bottle forces oxygen out and replaces it with a "blanket" of nitrogen to protect the wine. Winemakers often use nitrogen in the same way during the winemaking process. It is safe and effective for short-term (2-3 days) of storage.

In any case, the wine should also be refrigerated until you are ready to drink it. Then you'll need to bring it to the right temp.

For more opinions on this subject, see these threads (copy and paste these URL's in your browser):

wines.com/ubb2/Forum37/HTML/000285.html

wines.com/ubb2/Forum37/HTML/000385.html

Hope this helps.

Jackie