How to Store Your Wine

By Stacey Metulynsky, co-host of This Food That Wine take from the link there

Ever opened a bottle of wine, had a glass with dinner, popped the cork back in, and then left it sitting on the counter until your next dinner at home, which ended up being three days later? Somehow wine doesn’t taste nearly as good a couple days later. There are a few things you can do to keep your wine fresher once it’s opened.
How To Store Wine That’s Already Been Opened
Re-cork right away (will slow the process down a bit and keep your wine fresher for longer) – if you know you’re not planning on drinking a whole bottle at one sitting. The reason wine loses its oomph after a couple days open is that it oxidizes.
Keep it cold – even if it’s red wine. If you want to hang on to your open wine for a couple days, keep it in the fridge. When you’re ready for another glass, take it out and let it warm for half an hour before drinking. It’ll be almost as good as new for a couple days.
Get some gadgets – some of the gadgets on the market actually can help you keep your wine fresher. Two that I have personally tried are: the vacuum pump and preserving spray. The vacuum pump basically comes with reusable stoppers and it pumps out the air in the empty part of your bottle of wine. I have one and use it in conjunction with the two tips above to keep my open wine as fresh as possible. I find it extends the life of wine by maybe a day or so. Preserving spray is basically a can of inert gases that you spray into your partial bottle of wine. It creates a blanket over the wine, keeping the oxygen away and your wine fresher. Again, my experience is that it extends wine life by a day or two.

However you decide to store your opened bottles of wine, keep in mind that how long it will stay fresh will also depend on the wine itself. Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling with lots of acidity, for example, seem to stay fresher for longer. Same goes for sweet wines and fortified wines like port and sherry.

How To Store Your Unopened Wine
Generally speaking, if you keep a few bottles of wine on hand to drink over the next few months, you have nothing to worry about.
Temperature – wine will mature more slowly and will generally stay in better shape if it’s stored at a steady, cool temperature. Let’s say around 15ºC (or 58ºF). At warm temperatures, wine ages faster and starts to lose some of its fruitiness and flavour. Fluctuating temperatures can also be hard on wine, so if your basement goes from hot to cold through the seasons, a consistently cool closet might be a better spot for your wine.
Light – bright lights can also have an effect on your wine (notice that many reds are bottled in green or brown bottles that filter out light better than clear glass). Try to store your wine in a dark place.
Vibrations – keeping your wine still also helps it have a longer life. Over long periods of time, vibrations can prematurely oxidize your wine. So although your fridge is cool and dark, the vibrations from the motor can be harmful (the dry air can flatten out flavours as well).
Odours – pungent odours from food and household products can slowly infiltrate your wine, so don’t store your wine next to the leftover paint cans in the basement.
Store it sideways – try to keep your wine stored horizontally, the way most wine racks are built. In order to keep a good seal, corks need to stay moist from contact with the wine. If you store your wine upright, the cork can dry out and the wine can oxidize. If you’ve got screw cap wine, you can store it upright without a problem.