How to Store an Open Bottle of Wine

To give your wine leftovers the longest life, recork and refrigerate them―even reds (they come up to drinking temperature soon after being poured). Most whites hold well for two days; reds for three. After that you can freeze leftover wine in ice-cube trays and use the cubes for cooking.

If you're not going to finish a bottle within two or three days of opening it, keep the wine fresh with a Vacu Vin Concerto Wine Saver ($20, amazon.com), a hand-operated vacuum pump that sucks air out of the opened bottle, extending a wine's shelf life by up to 10 days.

While some red wines keep longer in the bottle (thanks to tannins, which act as natural preservatives), whites last longer than reds after opening due to their acidic content.