The Wine Fact Center

Deciding on the best way to let your wine breathe can be a difficult one.I am ready to start enjoying my glass of wine right away when I open a bottle. I generally don’t have much patience for allowing it to breathe.  Why do we let wine breathe?  By letting your wine breathe or aerate it allows for the full flavors to emerge and make the wine more palatable. While there are many wines that do not need to go through this process, it is good to know the little details that can make a big difference. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy your wine to its fullest potential.

The reason why wines needs to breathe, or age, is because of tannins. Tannins can transfer into wine during the fermentation process from seeds and skins of grapes. They are a natural preservative that diminish overtime allowing fuller flavors to emerge. White wines and some red wines have low levels of these and therefore do not need aging, or periods of breathing, before drinking. Generally all red wines can benefit from aeration, but those that are lighter and fruitier generally don’t require much aeration.

The term breathing refers to the mixing of oxygen with wine allowing the breakdown of tannins. You can bring out fuller flavors of wine by using a decanter to allow the wine to mix with oxygen on a larger scale.

If you choose to allow your wine to breathe, you still have one more decision to make. Do you use a decanter or an aerator? If you have the time, about an hour, then use a decanter. This is plenty of time for your wine to mix with oxygen and for its full flavors to emerge.  All you do is pour your bottle of wine, or the ammount you would like to drink, into the decanter and let it sit.Surface area is key to the amount of oxygen that can reach the wine; the more area, the sooner you can enjoy it.

If you just opened a bottle of wine five minutes before guests arrived, or you are only wanting to drink a single glass, decantors may not be the best way to aerate your wine.  Aerators serve the same purpose of decanters, but can achieve the same effect in the time it takes you to pour a glass. Two types of aerators are available: one that is seperate from the bottle, and one that attches as a spout directly in the bottle of wine.

The Vinturi red wine aerator allows you to speed up the breathing process by mixing the perfect amount of air for the perfect amount of time to bring out the color, aroma, and flavor of your wines. Just hold the aerator over your glass and pour your wine. To keep your kitchen counter free of wine stains,Vinturi comes with a drip free stand.

The second option, which is more user friendly especially for multi-tasking person, is the Wine Finer . Pour a perfectly oxygen enhanced glass of wine with this easy to use aerator. All you do is open your bottle of wine, place the Wine Finer in the bottle and pour. After using the Wine Finer, just re-cork it with the top of the device. Your next glass of aerated wine will be waiting for you.

So before you decide whether to get yourself a decanter or an aerator, consider your time constraints. Make sure you have the time to wait for the decanter or be safe and allow your wine to breath immediately with Vinturi or Wine Finer.