| How does one know when and how to let wine | | | | more tannic a wine may need to aerate for |
| breathe? Letting wine breathe is allowing additional | | | | longer periods of time. A vino may need to |
| air to enter into the liquid before it is served. This | | | | aerate up to four hours or longer, especially the |
| process is also known as aerating. At times, | | | | red ones from Piedmont, Italy which would be the |
| aeration will improve the aroma and flavor of a | | | | young Barolos or Barbarescos. Cabernet |
| less mature wine. There are several ways to | | | | Sauvignons, Bordeaux, a good many Italian wines |
| aerate vino: 1. Pour an open carafe. 2. Allow it to | | | | and those from the northern Rhone Valley may |
| sit in large glasses for ten minutes before drinking. | | | | need to aerate up to an hour to enhance their |
| Should all of the wines that you drink be aerated? | | | | flavor. All of these are rich in tannins. |
| No. Very few white wines need to aerate. Most | | | | Some tannin may solidify and turn into sediment |
| white wines may be imbibed right out of the | | | | over time. This sediment gives the vino a bitter |
| bottle unless they are too cold and need to warm | | | | taste. One will want to remove this sediment by |
| up a few degrees. However, there are a few | | | | letting the bottle sit upright for a day or two. |
| white wines that do well when aerated. The best | | | | Once all the sediment is on the bottom of the |
| Alsace white wines, full-bodied Burgundies and | | | | bottle, very carefully pour into a decanter, leaving |
| Bordeaux whites fit into this category. An | | | | the sediment in the bottle. |
| indication that a wine may need aeration is if it | | | | Very old wine is fragile. An older wine will lose its |
| does not have much in the way of aroma or | | | | flavor quickly once it has been poured from the |
| flavor. | | | | bottle. A paler color indicates an older wine. An |
| It may be advantageous to let the reds and | | | | individual should drink these upon pouring. The |
| dessert wines breathe. Many of these have | | | | darker the wine, the more aeration it will need. |
| tannins which give it bite. Aerating vino reduces | | | | Younger wines will be darker, ruby reds and the |
| the tannins and takes away some of the bite. | | | | older, more mature wines will generally be paler in |
| Aeration mellows the wine. The younger and | | | | color. |