When it comes to conversations of wine aeration, you’ll find most red wines that were designed to be cellared can benefit from relatively short-term exposure to air, which typically softens the tannins of the wines, while greatly enhancing their flavors and aromas. Very few white wines require any breathing through aeration accessories or decanters.
For red wines, the easiest way to aerate the wine is to open the bottle about 2 hours before serving. For heavier white wines that can benefit from additional aeration, open the bottle for about 45 minutes prior to serving. There’s a common myth that merely opening a wine bottle and letting it breath does nothing to enhance its flavor because not enough surface area of the wine is exposed to air. Frankly, we think that’s BS because it doesn’t take into consideration the amount of time the wine will be open prior to tasting. Just like a decanter can speed a wine’s breathing time by increasing the surface area, opening a bottle of wine which has a smaller surface area than a decanter but letting it breathe for a longer time can improve it. It’s a mathematical function of surface area and time. If you’re not sure if the wine needs aeration, pour a small amount into a wine glass, taste it, and then gently swirl it in the glass (don’t splash) for 3 to 5 seconds. If the wine tastes fuller and smoother, allow it to breath. If it’s degraded in flavor, recork it and place it where it will be the right serving temperature when you’re ready to enjoy it. Because only a small amount of wine was removed from the bottle, the wine shouldn’t degrade any further before you are ready to enjoy it assuming you are going to drink it within several hours. If you don’t have a decanter and there isn’t sufficient time to let the bottle breath, pour the wine into a glass and let it breath. Typically 20 minutes is sufficient. The problem with breathing wine in a glass is that usually this is done at room temperature. Even well laid plans to serve the wine at the correct temperature usually go out the window if you need to let the wine glass breath, which is usually done at room temperature.
If you are going to drink the entire bottle of wine, the best way to let it aerate is to use a decanter. There are numerous shapes but the basic goals of using an aeration accessory like a decanter are the same:
If you’re using a decanter, make sure you are in a very well lit area and pour the wine in slowly, observing the shoulder of the wine bottle (the part just before it narrows at the neck). Make sure there’s sufficient light to clearly see the wine. As you near the bottom, you’ll likely see small particles begin to approach the neck. Stop pouring prior to them leaving the bottle. The amount of time to leave a wine in the decanter depends on the surface area. Assuming the decanter is roughly twice the diameter of the bottle, the wine will aerate in ¼ of the time that it would in the bottle so assume about 20 to 30 minutes.
Not all red wine and very few white wines need to breath. Make sure you taste the wine first. Usually (but not always) the fruitier the wine, the less likely it is to need aeration. Wines with heavier tannins typically will need more breathing time.
If you use a decanter to aerate your wine, you’re committed to either drinking the entire amount decanted or throwing the rest away. Once a wine has been heavily exposed to oxygen, it is well on the road to becoming vinegar and if left too long, becomes undrinkable.
