Your wine has been deprived of oxygen for the past 5 years, maybe it’s time to let it breathe a little. Just imagine what this breath of fresh air can do to that wine in a matter of minutes! But it’s not that simple. Aerating wine is just plain badass but it isn’t always necessary. Though some wines will benefit greatly from wine aeration, in some cases it can do more harm than good. How do you know? Well, take out your best wine aerator, and let’s ponder the art of decanting wine!
We have to stop this constant and ambiguous urge to decant every wine under the pretext that we are “opening a good bottle”. It isn’t always necessary. There is a persisting myth that says all good wines must be decanted, except that decanting is not an absolute rule. We must simply take into account the age of the wine, the type of wine, and also the occasion.
Uncorking The Controversial Wine Aeration Myth
Image Source & Credits – Courtesy of Vinturi
Let’s start with a simple question… Are there wines that should NOT be aerated? YES! In fact, most wines don’t need aeration as much as people think. Lighter reds and a majority of white wines don’t need to be aerated. They’re typically young wines with very little tannins. Only aerate the heavier, full-bodied wine varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Bordeaux blends, Grenache and Syrah, some Pinot Noir, and perhaps Cabernet Franc. Heavier reds have a tendency to pack more tannins and require their bouquet or flavor profile to be tempered.
Aerating Young Wines
For a young red wine (3 to 5 years), decanting can help round out the tannins that are sometimes a little prominent, and a little aggressive. Since those wines haven’t aged very long, their tannins haven’t had time to resolve. By aerating them, some of the unwanted chemicals –that would be otherwise softened during a longer aging process– are quickly released. In other words, some young red wines can be made to taste and smell a lot better with aeration.
Aerating Aged Wines
This is where it gets a little tricky. For older wines (10 to 15 years of age), those that have spent years in a wine cellar quietly developing delicate and subtle aromas, decanting must be done with extreme care. Yes, decanting… Not aerating. I’ll get to it further down.
The sediment in aged wine is, in large part, tannins that have bound together through age and are no longer suspended. This surplus of tannins, though collected on the bottom of the bottle, can cause old reds to taste bitter. Though aeration can fix that problem, older wines are fragile and favor decanters rather than aerators. A decanter will give the wine ample time to open up slowly. Exposing it to oxygen too abruptly can oxidize it to the point of no return.
Wine bottles are often tinted by design to minimize the risk of bottle shock from direct light, but this also makes it harder to see the sediment when you go to pour it. We’ve all held a bottle into the light in search of sediment. The most efficient way to spot any sediment is with a candle. If you’re planning on opening a wine that has sediment in it, let the bottle stand upright for 12–16 hours, giving the sediment time to settle. After opening the bottle and carefully removing the cork particles, slowly pour the wine into a decanter using a small filter to filter out any sediment. Then place the decanter in a cool place and away from direct light for a quick nap (45 to 60 minutes) before primetime.
Keep in mind that a defective wine, one that is past its peak and potentially oxidized, will never be resurrected by decanting and aerating in a carafe.
Carpe Diem Wines (AKA Life Is Too Short)
And then there are wines that are sufficient to themselves, fresh and fruity, and designed to be appreciated in their youth. Wines for which aging should only last about the length of your drive home from the wine store. For them, decanting is NOT necessary.
The following reds for example, as noble and wonderful as they are, do not need fancy decanters: Light-bodied, naturally less tannic reds such as Pinot Noir from Burgundy, Beaujolais, certain varietals from the Provence region of France, lighter Zinfandel, lighter Chiantis, and Dolcettos. All they need is you and a glass, or no glass at all if you’re in a hurry to quench that thirst ;)
Most white wines, including Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, white Zinfandels, or Pinot Grisio won’t benefit from aeration. And neither will Rosés, Champagnes, and dessert wines.
And finally, cheaper wines do not need to be aerated. A $20 bottle of wine will never taste like a $200 bottle of wine. If it did, a lot of people would make a business out of it. A cheaper wine might get marginally better from aeration but that’s probably you telling yourself it is. Don’t feel bad… I’ve done it, too ;)
Aerating Or Decanting: What’s the Difference?
Though the result is essentially the same, the process is vastly different. Aerating uses an aerator (mechanical or manual) that quickly aerates the wine as it is being poured into a glass directly from the bottle. This method is fast and efficient for young wines, such as 3 to 5 years old. A mechanical aerator (aka automatic or electric) uses batteries to pump the wine out of the bottle into your glass. A manual aerator uses gravity to aerate the wine, and it is by far my favorite of the two options.
Decanting means using a decanter, a bulbed-shaped glass container, in which the wine aerates itself at its own pace. The aeration isn’t forced upon the wine, and it happens more naturally. It is a much calmer and safer approach to aerate wines that are more than 10 years old.
Wine Aeration Devices
There are MANY wine aeration toys out there, the good, the bad, and the downright unnecessary. To aerate the wine directly from the bottle, I recommend a simple handheld aeration tool. It’ll cost you anywhere between $15 and $30. It’s actually pretty cheap considering the benefits it provides. The Vinturi Red Wine Aerator is probably the most popular on the market, but they all provide the same results. This aerator style is a little challenging as you’ll need two hands; one hand to hold the aerator and another on the bottle to pour the wine. You can also get a wine aerator pourer that fits directly into the neck of the bottle. They may be a little more practical but lack in aeration efficiency in my opinion. And no, you don’t need a mechanical aerator (i.e. pump) but you are more than welcome to get one.
If you like to age wine as much as I do, I highly recommend a decanter! They make all shapes and sizes. Some are hand-blown, some are made out of crystal glass, and some look like curled-up snakes. They all look beautiful and are totally worth the $40 to $70 you’ll have to spend to get one of those. That said, you can spend more for it, a LOT more in fact… Riedel offers beautiful designer creations, like the Riedel Swan Decanter which will run you about $725. Yikes! At this price, it’d better turn water into wine ;)
We’ve uncorked the controversial wine aeration myth at last… And in case you’re still debating about the true benefits of wine aeration, remember one simple rule: “If the wine doesn’t look like it’s breathing, give it mouth-to-mouth.”
Cheers!