Why Let Wine Breathe?
So often, we hear people talking about letting the wine breathe. What are they talking about and does it really make any difference?
Breathing is simply the process of allowing the wine to be exposed to air. There is evidence that this is of no benefit to white wine at all, so when we are considering letting wine breathe we are just talking about red wine.
Many wines benefit from ageing. This is largely in order to allow the tannin and acid to mellow slightly; breathing follows similar principles. Exposing a wine to air, however, is a precise art, as if left for too long the wine will become vinegary and virtually undrinkable.
How long is too long?
Having scared you into believing that you may be about to turn your premium wine into a bottle of vinegar, you will probably be wondering, how long is too long?
This is a tricky question to answer as it does vary, depending on the wine and the quality of the bottle that you have. Almost every red wine can benefit from being opened for at least a few minutes. In a social setting, this is quite normal because it is rare for a bottle to be opened and drunk within a couple of minutes!
Wines that benefit from a slightly longer breathing time include nebbiolo and cabernet sauvignon, although even these wines tend to reach their peak within an hour or so of being opened.
Other wines, such as Beaujolais, require very little, if any, breathing time. In fact, any wine that is best consumed young will not generally benefit from breathing time.
Best Wine Breathing Techniques
Remember that if you simply remove the cork, very little surface area of the wine is actually in contact with the air. Therefore, when you allow a wine to breath, pour it into a container, such as a decanter, or better still simply pour the wine, in advance, into the individual glasses that will be used.
Allowing a wine to breathe will not make a bad wine good, but most red wines will benefit, at least slightly, from being allowed to breathe.
Uncork it – what have you go to lose?