When is a wine at its best?

There is no simple answer to this question, because so many factors are involved. Do you like a wine to retain some of its richness? Or do you prefer the gentle, mellow, softer complexity of a fully mature wine? Not an easy choice. Whatever your level of wine experience, the best answer is to trust your own palate, taste a wine regularly to see how it is developing and judge when it reaches a point at which you really enjoy drinking it.

Opening the Bottle

Removing the cork from a bottle of good red requires a little care, which the wine deserves. Start off with a good corkscrew, one that is simple to operate. The best corkscrews pull the cork straight up out of the bottle without dragging it sideways.
Cut the capsule on the ridge just below the top of the bottle and clean off any residue that has collected under the capsule. Screw down well into the cork, although it is a good idea not to go right through it, you could push a broken piece of cork into the wine or disturb sediment that might be adhering to the bottom of the cork. Remove the cork slowly. Carefully wipe off any remaining residue inside the rim with a clean cloth.

Using the correct glasses

The glass you use makes a big difference to the way a wine tastes. Try the same wine out of a tumbler and then a fine, thin-walled wine glass.  You will notice how much better the wine tastes when taken from the wine glass. Expert opinion confirms that these differences in taste are not merely psychological.
A good, all-purpose wine glass need not be expensive. It should have a capacity of about 220ml and be slightly tapered or tulip-shaped at the top, which helps to concentrate the bouquet when the wine is swirled around in the glass before nosing. After all, much of what we "taste" is really what our nose tells us about the wine.

Why is it recommended to 'swirl' wine around the glass before drinking?

To absorb oxygen which allows the aromas to develop and to see how well the wine clings to the side of the glass.

Do I need to decant my wines?

Only really necessary for older red wines to remove sediment.  Usually decanting is not necessary as the wine will 'breathe' in your glass.

How big can a wine bottle get?

Standard         0.75ltr   =   1 bottle
Magnum          1.50ltrs =   2 bottles
Jeroboam        3.00ltrs =   4 bottles
Rehoboam       4.50ltrs =   6 bottles
Methusalah     6.00ltrs =   8 bottles
Salmanazar     9.00ltrs = 12 bottles
Balthazar      12.00ltrs = 16 bottles
Nebuchadnezzar                 15.00ltrs = 20 bottles 

What is the ideal temperature for wine?

White - 45 - 50 F (7 - 10° C) chilled in the fridge for several hours
Reds - a little below room temperature, approx 65 F (18° C), although young reds can be served chilled.
Sparkling Wine - very cold, refrigerate overnight
Dessert Wine - room temperature

How long can I keep a bottle of wine for once it's opened?

If you can't manage it all in one sitting, it is best to pop the cork back in and put it in the fridge. It should still be pleasant to drink the next day and may even still be drinkable the day after that. But it will have changed slightly, as soon as the bottle is opened and the wine is exposed to oxygen, the steady process of decline will have already started. Various preservation devices do exist, however, these don't really work any better than putting the cork in and keeping the bottle in a cool place.

How long can I store a bottle of wine for?  Will it improve with age?

It all depends on the wine in question and your cellar conditions. Wine is one of the few foodstuffs that can improve with age and this is also one of its key fascinations.  Given good cellaring conditions, including a cool, stable temperature, fine red wines will improve for many years after release, as will certain sweet and dry white wines.  Most everyday wines are best drunk on release. If you do not have access to a cellar, a cool, dark area in the house will be suitable for short to medium-term storage. Alternatively, you can have your wines professionally cellared (for an annual fee) or you can buy a temperature controlled storage unit.
If you intend to mature wines for 5, 10, 15 years or more, the ideal cellar temperature is 58 F (14-15° C), with a relative humidity of 60-75%. If the wine in your cellar is a significant investment, it is worth using a thermometer to monitor summer temperatures. It may be cause for concern if cellar temperature goes much over 64 F (18° C), as warm conditions will accelerate the development of your wines; possibly reducing the pleasure to be had by them.
It is remarkable how much wine can fit into a relatively small space, especially if you use a simple wooden or metal racking system, which will keep wines well ventilated, and provide easy single-bottle access. Bottles should be stored on their sides, ideally with the necks sloping slightly upwards so that the cork remains wet, the bubble of air is in the shoulder and any sediment will collect at the bottom of the bottle. This will make the wine easier to decant.
Store wine with the label facing up, or use written neck tags so that you need not disturb a wine to identify it. And do not believe anyone who tells you that bottles should be turned periodically. This is nonsense.

Do you know?

The Manhattan Cocktail (whisky and sweet vermouth) was invented by Winston Churchill's mother
 
W C Fields once said "It was a woman that drove me to drink - I never got to thank her"

Although there are approximately 400 species of oak, only about 20 are used in making oak barrels.  Of these only about 5% are suitable for making high grade wine barrels and the average age of a French oak tree used to make wine barrels is around 170 years!