let-it-breathe-how-to-aerate-your-wine
Let It Breathe - How to Aerate Your Wine
The world of wine can often seem like an alien one. From
etiquette to tasting technique, the common functions of wine
drinking can be mystifying. One such area that confuses many
has to do with letting a wine breathe.
What are we talking about when letting wine breathe is
mentioned? It is the simple act of exposing wine to the
surrounding air. This is better known as aeration. The
aeration process smoothes out the sharp edges of a wine. It
can be the difference between drinking a wine that
overpowers the palette and one that simply has strong,
distinct flavors you can parcel out and enjoy.
The first step in the process of letting a wine breathe is
making sure you have a wine that actually needs to breathe.
Most white wines, for instance, do not need exposure to the
air to fortify the taste. Red wines, on the other hand,
almost always should be aerated before being poured. The
tend to come out of the bottle a bit overpowering, which
makes the softening effect of the aeration process
especially beneficial.
You see it all the time. People pop the cork on a bottle of
wine and then let the bottle sit exposed to the air. Is this
aeration? Not really. The wine is not really effected
because there simply isn?t enough wine actually exposed to
the air. That small gap at the top of the wine bottle is
just not going to cut it. If someone suggests to you that
this is the proper way to let wine breathe, you can smile
and know they really do not have a clue.
In most scenarios, the best way to aerate a wine is to pour
it into your wine glass and let it sit. Make sure the pour
covers six inches or more from the tip of the bottle to the
glass. Unlike beer, you also want to make sure the wine hits
the middle of the bottom of the glass. With beer, this will
give you a huge head, which is bad. With wine, however, it
gets plenty of air into the wine, which is good. Depending
on the glass, more wine should be exposed to the air.
Swirling it every thirty seconds or so will further this
exposure.
If possible, an even better way to let a wine breathe is to
use a decanter. A decanter is usually a glass container that
is leaning to one side or another for the purpose of
creating the largest possible surface where wine and air can
interact. In a pinch, any old juice pitcher will even work.
Just pour the wine back into the bottle to create the right
look!
If you are drinking red wine, letting it breathe is a
critical step. To do it right, make sure to go beyond just
popping the cork.
Rick Chapo writes for NomadJournals.com - makers of wine
tasting journals that make great wine gifts for wine
drinkers.
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The world of wine can often seem like an alien one. From
etiquette to tasting technique, the common functions of wine
drinking can be mystifying. One such area that confuses many
has to do with letting a wine breathe.