The do's and don'ts of storing wine

So first things first, I'm starting with the basics. The fact of life is this - lot's of people buy wine, not many people understand how or where you're supposed to store it once you get it home. Here's a few storage tips that you need to follow to make sure your wine stays in tip-top drinking shape.

Do

- Store all your bottles laid on their side
- Keep them in a dark and cool place (the back of a closet works in a pinch)
- Keep an eye out for a reasonably priced, small wine fridge
- After opening a bottle, drink it within three days

Don't

- Lay-down screwcap wines (they're meant to be drank right-away)
- Store any wine in direct sunlight
- Store bottles in your freezer (sparkling wine in a freezer is especially bad . . . it explodes!)
- Chill sparkling wine, then let it get warm, then cool it down again - it loses the bubbles and tastes terrible