Letting Wines Breathe
Why Let Wines Breathe?
Letting a wine breathe is the process of exposing a newly opened bottle of wine to oxygen. When wine is exposed to oxygen it accelerates the aging process which in red wines helps to 'open up' the wine revealing aromas and flavours previously masked by high levels of tannins.
Letting a wine breathe is the process of exposing a newly opened bottle of wine to oxygen. When wine is exposed to oxygen it accelerates the aging process which in red wines helps to 'open up' the wine revealing aromas and flavours previously masked by high levels of tannins.
As this process oxidizes the wine care must be taken as to the length of time a wine needs to breathe or whether it should breathe at all. Young red wines can benefit from an hour or so of breathing due to their higher levels of tannins. Older wines will often be better without any breathing as even a short time can be detrimental to a wine pushing it "over the hill".
It is important to note that merely opening a bottle has little effect on the wine as the surface area exposed to oxygen is relatively small. A wine decanter has a much larger surface area and will more effectively allow the wine to breathe. Even pouring the wine into a glass can have a significant effect on the result.
Michael Davey