Allowing Wine To Breathe

But a more refined wine of similar youth for example a pinot noir is unlikely to need or want more air than it gets from simply being splashed into a glass.

Allowing wine to breathe. Allowing a wine to breathe is simply a process of exposing it to air for a period of time before serving. Any off volatile gases that may have built up while in the wine bottle are given the time to release and dissipate. The process of decanting is necessary only for red wines which have a lot of natural sediment which has deposited at the bottom of the bottle over time.

Most articles pontificate on the benefits of allowing wine to breath but like everything else regarding wine letting it breathe is open to debate. First fumes release from the wine. If you uncork a bottle of wine there is very little interaction through the narrow neck of the bottle and the liquid inside.

There is a lot of debate about the necessity of doing so but aerating some wines is broadly considered to release more of the wine s aromas and soften tannins which can be particularly helpful on a young full bodied red wine. You could allow 30 minutes to an hour for the wine to breathe on its own but aeration greatly speeds the process so you don t have to wait to drink the wine. The answer is yes.

Wine also has a small tiny amount of naturally produced sulfites. Proponents of breathing contend that aerating another word for breathing softens the tannins of the wines while greatly enhancing their flavors and aromas. Long ago winemakers discovered that adding sulphur sulfites helped slow the oxidation process of wine allowing it to age more gracefully.

When allowing a wine to breathe some chemistry takes place. By allowing wine to mix and mingle with air the wine will typically warm up and the wine s aromas will open up the flavor profile will soften and mellow out a bit and the overall flavor characteristics should improve. When people talk about letting a wine breathe this is really about exposing the wine to oxygen by allowing it to aerate before you drink it.

I m going to try and keep this short. Some wines like this can taste better after a day of being open. Young red wines especially those that are high in tannin such as cabernet sauvignon most red zinfandel bordeaux and many.