But except for collector wines that need bottle age, most wines are meant to be drunk within a year: otherwise, they deteriorate. If you’re not sure about a wine you own, ask at your local wine store.

You don’t need a special occasion to open a nice bottle of wine. If you don’t have enough participation to finish the bottle in an evening, use a wine preservative and enjoy it over a week.

• Here’s a good wine preservative spray.
• Read more about vino in the Wine Section.

If you have no one to share that fine wine with,
enjoy it yourself. Use a preservative spray to
keep the remainder fresh for a few days or a week until you can finish the bottle.