How long is a opened bottle of wine good for?

[Bolillo]

If I open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, how long will it remain good before spoiling? Should the wine be refrigerated after it has been opened? Where is a good place to read about wine facts?

Thanks for your help.

[Innkeeper]

The best way is to find a glass vessel the wines just fits in, cork it, and put it in the refer for a day or two at best. If you are a half bottle at a time type, a good idea is to have a used half bottle on hand and a cork recorker. When you open a new full bottle, fill the half bottle first, recork it, and place in refer. Then enjoy the rest of your bottle at table.

This board is a good place to learn about wine. They are also very good books recommended here (try "wine books" on search). Your library, and online book stores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble are also good places to look.

[ltmikey]

Dear Bolillo. My advice is: DON'T! Wine is made for drinking, not for keeping. If you pop the cork, that's it. the prolonged exposure to oxygen is not going to do the wine any good. The only wine that may benefit from a night in the fridge or closet is very young and tannic/acidic wine. But you shouldn't have been drinking that yet to begin with. So maybe you should look into buying half bottles.
There are several devices that will limit the damage somewhat. Vacuvin is a good one and there's a host of similar gadgets to be had. Just don't slam the cork back in, because that way you "push" the oxygen into the wine because you creat pressure inside the bottle.

[Bucko]

The best way that I have found to keep wine fresh after opening it is to spray Private Preserve (nitrogen) into the bottle, then keep chilled until ready to drink. Bottles keep well for a week IMHO.

Bucko