Air and wine begin to react together the moment a bottle is opened. At first, air brings out the flavor and aroma of the wine, but if the wine is exposed to air for too long, it becomes oxidized. This is when the wine becomes flat, lacking in flavor and eventually completely spoiled.

Tips for Preserving Leftover Wine

• If you have about half a bottle of wine left, you can simply pour the wine into a clean, empty half-sized wine bottle and recork the smaller bottle as the air to wine ratio is lower than if stored in a full-sized bottle.
  
• There is a handy, inexpensive, miniature pump that you can buy called the Vacuvin wine saver (please refer to our wine accessories section to purchase). This pump removes the oxygen from the bottle and rubber stopper that come with it keep additional oxygen from entering the bottle. It can keep your wine fresh for up to a week.
  
• If the cork is damaged, you could use a wine-bottle stopper. Choose one with some "give" in the stopper part, so it can expand to make the bottle neck airtight.