The reason not to order wine by the glass

"Once uncorked, a bottle of wine boards the bullet train to vinegarville. Basically, it is as perishable as a piece of raw fish or meat, freshness-wise, if not as dangerous. But you wouldn't know it by how some restaurants and bars treat their wine, especially in summer, when elevated room temperatures can accelerate the chemical reactions that precipitate its decline.

Curiously, even a restaurant or bar that would not dream of serving day-old buns or rancid bar nuts will generally be happy to sell you stale wine - at a premium to the cost of fresher juice sold by the bottle.

The risk to unsuspecting drinkers is especially acute early in the evening, when half-empty bottles from the previous day's service are circulated for a second go-round, just like Saturday's unsold salmon repurposed as Monday's fish cakes..."