Dear Sun Spots: You have helped me in the past, so I’m hoping you can do the same today.

My friends don’t agree on wine. So, could you find out how long you can keep it after it’s open? Where do you keep it, too? Thanks for any help. – Jane of No Town.

Answer: According to www.sbwines.com/usenet_winefaq/storingafteropen, wine deteriorates in the presence of oxygen. The most practical thing to do is finish the wine. When this isn’t sensible, the idea of buying smaller bottles (or taking home unfinished bottles when drunk in a restaurant – you don’t have to leave them – though in California, make sure you take it home in the trunk of your car), when available, can be a better solution. You can cook with leftover wine, or even turn it to vinegar (Why buy when you can have homemade?). Also note that some young, tannic wines might actually taste better the next day.

But, there is always the time when you want to try to preserve the quality of the wine for as long as you can. To do this, you want to prevent as much oxygen as you can from getting to it.

One of the better ways is to fill the bottle with an inert gas. There are several different systems which do this, but they tend to be relatively to extremely expensive. Nevertheless, for the serious aficionado, this is probably the best solution.

Another product, the Vacu-vin is a small pump device that comes with rubber stoppers and a small hole in the middle of the stopper. The idea is that you can suck a fair amount of air from the bottle, thus reducing the effect of the oxygen. Some, but not all, people feel that it might add two or three days to the life of the bottle.

Other cheap and interesting ideas: Get a bunch of glass marbles. Clean them, then put them in the bottle until the liquid is up to the top, then cork. Or, just transfer the wine to a smaller bottle. Or both.

You may also want to use your opened bottle of red wine in the following:

Roma Downey’s Irish Stew. Ingredients: 3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided; 1 tablespoon butter; 2 onions, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon dried thyme; 3 cups beef stock or water; ½ cup dry red wine (optional); 1 large potato, peeled and sliced; 2 cups baby carrots; ½ pound pearl onions, 1 cup frozen peas.

Method: Trim lamb and cut into bite-size pieces, about ¾ inch. In heavy saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter over medium-high heat and stir-fry lamb until liquid evaporates and lamb is well-browned. Add chopped onions and garlic; sauté until onions are tender. Sprinkle in flour, salt and thyme; cook, stirring constantly until well blended. Add stock and red wine, if using. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Add sliced potato; reduce heat, cover and simmer, about 35 to 40 minutes or until meat is tender. Add carrots and cook covered until carrots are tender, adding water if necessary. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil; sauté pearl onions until browned and tender; add to stew along with peas. Simmer 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Per serving for 6 (without wine): 553 calories, 51 g protein, 27 g fat, 24 g carbohydrate. Per serving for 8 (without wine): 415 calories, 38 g protein, 21 g fat, 18 g carbohydrate

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