It is said that “wine is a living thing”. Almost no wine doesn’t change either over time or when exposed to air. Wine can also change due to improper storage, shipping and subject to cork fungus. See our blog article about “corked” wine for more information. A wine’s appearance, color, aroma, body, bouquet and finish does change as the wine ages in a cellar or even a few hours after being opened.
People usually ask should they aerate a wine? Aeration is a process of reducing the carbon monoxide in wine or the converse of adding oxygen to a wine. Many people say aeration is letting a wine “breathe”. There are varies degrees of aeration such as just opening a bottle of wine, to decanting it in another container (typically a bulbed shaped glass container), using an aerator device and in some cases a blender.
In the wine industry, a bottle of wine may be said to be “closed”. According to Robert Parker the definition of a closed wine is to “denote that the wine is not showing its potential, which remains locked in because it is too young. Young wines often close up about 12-18 months after bottling, and depending on the vintage and storage conditions, remain in such a state for several years to more than a decade.” When a bottle of wine is then exposed to air it begins to “open”. Robert Parker doesn’t have a definition for “opened” wine so it is implied that an “opened” wine is one that is ready to drink. Another similar term to “closed” is “tight” or “tightly knit” which Robert Parker wants people to use it for “Young wines that have good acidity levels, good tannin levels, and are well made.” Not all young wines are good enough quality to be “tight” but all young wines can be “closed”. The question becomes when or how fast can a wine be transitioned from “closed” or “tight” to “open”.
There are other reasons to aerate a wine such as when a wine has a lot of tannins or has an overbearing flavor. At first blush the wine is likely unpleasant to drink unless the tannins or strong flavor can be softened. Another reason for aerating wine is that wines continue to change while cellared. While a wine ages there are chemical reactions within the wine that may produce “off” aroma gases as a result. Some winemakers to preserve wine add sulfites which can lead to a smell similar to rotten eggs. Robert Parker defines “off” as a wine “not showing its true character, or is flawed or spoiled in some way”. An “off” wine may be just in a temporary phase which aerating the wine helps it regain its expected character.
There are five ways in which people can aerate wine:
1. Pour the wine directly from the bottle into a glass and then swirl the wine (minimalist)
2. Pour wine from the bottle into a decanter (purist conventional)
3. Pour wine through an aerator (modern approach)
4. Pour wine in a mechanical blender (unconventional)
5. Or a combination of any of the four above
According to Bon Appetite Magazine’s Talia Baiocci, she tested the Vinturi aerator she believed three out of the four real world taste tests performed that the aerator turned the wine into “less desirable” versions of the wines. Her conclusion was is that the aerator device worked but not as intended. The recommendation was to use a decanter and let the wine breathe for an hour.
The Huffington Post for their Huffington Taste website page tested four different versions of the same wine when they:
1. Poured straight from the bottle
2. Poured through an aerating spout that you put into the neck of the wine bottle
3. Traditionally decanted in a glass container and by
4. Hyperdecanting which is the pulsing of wine in a blender as pioneered by founder of The Cooking Lab, coauthor of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking and Modernist Cuisine at Home)
The Huffington Post concluded that with a few exceptions, their taste testers generally agreed that the same wine straight from a bottle tastes nearly identical to wine poured through an aerator. They thought that the decanted wine “took distinct notice of new flavors, mellowed alcohol and more pleasant aroma”. As to hyperdecanted wine, the wine to them tested more “blander, some thought it tasted rounder and a bit sweeter”. The decanted method was their preferred method.
One method not tested in comparison to the four methods mentioned above as far as I can find is pouring wine from the bottle without removing the cork using a system by Coravin. A short explanation is that you inject a small needle into the cork to draw out the wine and before you remove the needle you then inject argon gas to keep air out. Argon gas is reported by Coravin to be 99.9% effective so technically your wine is aerated but only one tenth of one percent and by however much the cork or screw cap allows air to enter the bottle.
In researching this article, I have found anecdotal evidence to support the premise that aeration is equal to or better than decanting a wine. In some situations, wine directly from the bottle may be better than any form of aeration. This may be true for inexpensive and fruit heavy red wines are more fruit robust and more enjoyable directly from the bottle. Chances are that these types of wines either don’t improve or worse with aeration. Aeration and decanting are more likely preferable when your red wine has earthy flavors or has aged in a cellar so that it can get to its true character faster. In another article we will try to sort out if white wine can be or should be aerated.
A perceived benefit of an aerator is that it’s the best way to make your wine taste better if you’re short on time and/or patience. Decanting may take 30 minutes to four hours and then you have to specially clean the decanter. An aerator is easier to travel, store, and clean than a decanter, not to mention aerators are less likely to break.
If you use a decanter you have to estimate the amount of wine that you will drink at that time. You run the risk of pouring more wine into the decanter than you will drink. You can always try to re-pour the wine back into the wine bottle but difficult to do because the mouth of the decanter is larger than the opening of the bottle.
One nice thing about aerators is that you can test a small sample of wine with aeration and without aeration to decide which way to serve that particular wine. It is not practical to do the same type of testing using a decanter.
To choose to aerate (or not) or to use a decanter (or heavens forbid a blender), the choice is personal. The important factors to consider are time, patience, convenience, and condition of the wine.
List of Aerators You Can Buy:
Vinturi Red Wine Aerator (Hand-held or used with stand; acrylic and dishwasher safe). The Vinturi aerator is probably the most popular of all aerators sold. This aerator can be a challenge to use because you need two hands. One hand on the bottle pouring and the other hand to hold the aerator over your wine glass. You can’t pour too quickly as it takes time for the wine to pass through the aerator. www.vinturi.com
Soiree Bottle-Top Wine Decanter & Aerator (Bottle-top aerator; glass construction and includes a stand for storage). This aerator attaches directly to the wine bottle so it is easier to use as it only requires one hand (assuming that your wine glass is on a table). This aerator doesn’t use a funnel system to aerate but a glass bowl which when the wine is poured through it the wine spreads out on the inside of the bowl thereby exposing it to more air. I had one and thought it was neat to see the wine come out of the bottle and into the glass bowl. Sort of a Pavlov’s dog response. Unfortunately, I broke mine because it is made out of glass.
Metrokane Rabbit Wine Aerating Pourer (Bottle-top aerator; silicone and stainless steel construction and hand clean only (not in your dishwasher with optional stand for storage). www.metrokane.com/product/2/rabbit-aerating-pourer.aspx
Nicholas VinOair Wine Aerator (Bottle-top aerator and can be used for drip stopper; acrylic construction; pocket sized for travel; no stand needed and hand wash only (not for the dishwasher)).
Wine Aerator Hand Blown 5 ounce (Bottle-top aerator; large glass bulb construction; replaces cork to preserve freshness and comes with a stand for storage).
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