To Breathe Or Not To Breathe Your Favorite Wines
Most quality reds should be allowed to breath especially if they are young.
Some Thoughts About Breathing
Let’s talk about whether to breathe or not to breathe your favorite wines. Most white wines don’t require it. However, most young red wines benefit with some breathing. It depends on how the winemaker crafted them. If they were intended to be drunk young, then letting it breathe is not that important. You might be able to Google tasting notes for a particular wine which might tell you. The problem is that you can’t tell by looking at the bottle. This is just another example of how there is a large educational gap between the wine industry and the consumer. Wouldn’t it be nice and smart for wineries to put tasting and aging notes on the bottle? There are certain things that should be required on wine labels and allowing it to breathe should be on there. How is the average person to know? I decant most young reds, unless they have bubbles like Roscato or Lambrusco. And, I decant all reds that have been in my collection for about 5 years or more.
How To Let It Breathe
Most quality reds should be allowed to breath especially if they are young. Everyone should invest in a decent wine decanter. Just pulling the cork won’t work. Not enough oxygen will exchange with the wine that way. Decant your wine and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. If you don’t have a decanter, then pour the wine out into glasses and wait at least 30 minutes. This will do the trick along with some frequent swirling. Always wash your glasses and decanter with hot water and no soap!
Some wines are so tight or young that you can put them in a decanter and let them sit overnight in a dark area, like a young Barolo! Also, it is important to decant older bottles to separate the sediment. But in this case, you should pour and drink right away. They don’t need to breathe if you had them in your cellar for years, but they will fall apart quickly if you don’t drink them right away.
Misc.
When opening the bottle, try not to shake it around especially if it’s older. This is really bad for wine. Store in a cool place like your basement lying down! Sometimes I open my wine before going to eat. This will allow you to open it properly (some servers have no clue). Also, you can prevent taking a bad bottle out with you. It sucks when you get to a restaurant only to find that you have a bottle that went bad. Remember to swirl your wine once it is in the glass, but never shake a bottle!
Buy a good quality wine opener as well. I am old school and prefer the ones that servers use. All good restaurants should have decanters. The picture above is the style that I like best since it maximizes the surface area between the air and wine to breathe. If you are going to a BYOB, then bring your own decanter if it’s a good bottle. If you are not sure when to open your wine, you can use vintage charts. I like the one by Wine Enthusiast magazine. Or you can message me or text 609-364-3477. Thanks Frank
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