beetlejuice said:

Okay so everyone says let that "red wine" breathe.  But what time should it be allowed to breathe before enjoying.  And does this relate to all varieties of red or is there varying times for each variety?  Often I hear the saying "it should have been opened earlier for enjoyment now".  I have been looking through the forums but wasn't sure which section there may be something about this in.  Please some direction would be most appreciated as I do enjoy my red wine but sometimes wonder if it would have tasted that much smoother if I had opened it earlier.  Looking forward to your responses.

lovewine said:

beetlejuice said:

Okay so everyone says let that "red wine" breathe.  But what time should it be allowed to breathe before enjoying.  And does this relate to all varieties of red or is there varying times for each variety?  Often I hear the saying "it should have been opened earlier for enjoyment now".  I have been looking through the forums but wasn't sure which section there may be something about this in.  Please some direction would be most appreciated as I do enjoy my red wine but sometimes wonder if it would have tasted that much smoother if I had opened it earlier.  Looking forward to your responses.

beetlejuice, the whole idea of letting wine breathe, is simply to maximise the wine's exposure to surrounding air. When wine is allowed to mix with air, the wine will typically warm up, the wine's aromas/ smell will open up and the flavour profile will soften and mellow out a bit and the flavour characteristics should improve.

Which Wines Need to Breathe
Typically red wines benefit most from breathing before serving.  In general, most wines will improve with as little as 15-20 minutes of air time. However, if the wine is young with high tannin levels, it will need more time to breathe before enjoying. For example, a young Cabernet Sauvignon will require around an hour for flavour softening to take place. Not that you cannot drink it as soon as it is opened, but give it more time to breathe and you will be rewarded for your patience! Older wines (8+ years) will benefit most from decanting and then will only have a small window of aeration opportunity before the flavour profiles begin to deteriorate, as in don't leave an hour before you drink.

How to Let Your Wine Breathe
Merely opening a bottle of wine and allowing it to sit for a bit is  to breathe is not the way to do it! Not enough surface area at the top of the bottle to allow the right amount of air to make contact with the wine. So what's a Wine Lover to do? You have two options: Decanter or Wine Glass

Decanter - use a decanter,a flower vase, a large water jug, bascially container with a wide opening at the top to pour your bottle of wine into. The increased surface area is the key to allowing more air to make contact with your wine.

The Wine Glass - Pour your wine into wine glasses and let it be exposed to air in the glass ( that is if you have enough self-control to leave it there). Low-maintenance and works quite well.

In general, Rule of Thumb: the more tannins a wine has the more time it will need to aerate. Lighter-bodied red wines (i.e Pinot Noir) that have lower tannin levels, will need little if any time to breathe so you can open and enjoy, Really it is up to you, so go on and test your patience and see is it all worth waiting for and let us know:)

ecodes said:

lovewine said:

beetlejuice said:

Okay so everyone says let that "red wine" breathe.  But what time should it be allowed to breathe before enjoying.  And does this relate to all varieties of red or is there varying times for each variety?  Often I hear the saying "it should have been opened earlier for enjoyment now".  I have been looking through the forums but wasn't sure which section there may be something about this in.  Please some direction would be most appreciated as I do enjoy my red wine but sometimes wonder if it would have tasted that much smoother if I had opened it earlier.  Looking forward to your responses.

beetlejuice, the whole idea of letting wine breathe, is simply to maximise the wine's exposure to surrounding air. When wine is allowed to mix with air, the wine will typically warm up, the wine's aromas/ smell will open up and the flavour profile will soften and mellow out a bit and the flavour characteristics should improve.

Which Wines Need to Breathe
Typically red wines benefit most from breathing before serving.  In general, most wines will improve with as little as 15-20 minutes of air time. However, if the wine is young with high tannin levels, it will need more time to breathe before enjoying. For example, a young Cabernet Sauvignon will require around an hour for flavour softening to take place. Not that you cannot drink it as soon as it is opened, but give it more time to breathe and you will be rewarded for your patience! Older wines (8+ years) will benefit most from decanting and then will only have a small window of aeration opportunity before the flavour profiles begin to deteriorate, as in don't leave an hour before you drink.

How to Let Your Wine Breathe
Merely opening a bottle of wine and allowing it to sit for a bit is  to breathe is not the way to do it! Not enough surface area at the top of the bottle to allow the right amount of air to make contact with the wine. So what's a Wine Lover to do? You have two options: Decanter or Wine Glass

Decanter - use a decanter,a flower vase, a large water jug, bascially container with a wide opening at the top to pour your bottle of wine into. The increased surface area is the key to allowing more air to make contact with your wine.

The Wine Glass - Pour your wine into wine glasses and let it be exposed to air in the glass ( that is if you have enough self-control to leave it there). Low-maintenance and works quite well.

In general, Rule of Thumb: the more tannins a wine has the more time it will need to aerate. Lighter-bodied red wines (i.e Pinot Noir) that have lower tannin levels, will need little if any time to breathe so you can open and enjoy, Really it is up to you, so go on and test your patience and see is it all worth waiting for and let us know:)

Great question Beetlejuice and brilliant answer Lovewine, very informative and answered a lot of questions that I also had.
My mother and her partner always leave their red wine sitting for a fair while before they drink it and i have always been the one to be the first to drink. Will leave it sit  now and try to patiently wait then hopefully will reap the rewards afterwards.
Thanks to the website I am gradually coming to understand the language of wine.
thanks Lovewine!!

lovewine said:

beetlejuice said:

Okay so everyone says let that "red wine" breathe.  But what time should it be allowed to breathe before enjoying.  And does this relate to all varieties of red or is there varying times for each variety?  Often I hear the saying "it should have been opened earlier for enjoyment now".  I have been looking through the forums but wasn't sure which section there may be something about this in.  Please some direction would be most appreciated as I do enjoy my red wine but sometimes wonder if it would have tasted that much smoother if I had opened it earlier.  Looking forward to your responses.

beetlejuice, the whole idea of letting wine breathe, is simply to maximise the wine's exposure to surrounding air. When wine is allowed to mix with air, the wine will typically warm up, the wine's aromas/ smell will open up and the flavour profile will soften and mellow out a bit and the flavour characteristics should improve.

Which Wines Need to Breathe
Typically red wines benefit most from breathing before serving.  In general, most wines will improve with as little as 15-20 minutes of air time. However, if the wine is young with high tannin levels, it will need more time to breathe before enjoying. For example, a young Cabernet Sauvignon will require around an hour for flavour softening to take place. Not that you cannot drink it as soon as it is opened, but give it more time to breathe and you will be rewarded for your patience! Older wines (8+ years) will benefit most from decanting and then will only have a small window of aeration opportunity before the flavour profiles begin to deteriorate, as in don't leave an hour before you drink.

How to Let Your Wine Breathe
Merely opening a bottle of wine and allowing it to sit for a bit is  to breathe is not the way to do it! Not enough surface area at the top of the bottle to allow the right amount of air to make contact with the wine. So what's a Wine Lover to do? You have two options: Decanter or Wine Glass

Decanter - use a decanter,a flower vase, a large water jug, bascially container with a wide opening at the top to pour your bottle of wine into. The increased surface area is the key to allowing more air to make contact with your wine.

The Wine Glass - Pour your wine into wine glasses and let it be exposed to air in the glass ( that is if you have enough self-control to leave it there). Low-maintenance and works quite well.

In general, Rule of Thumb: the more tannins a wine has the more time it will need to aerate. Lighter-bodied red wines (i.e Pinot Noir) that have lower tannin levels, will need little if any time to breathe so you can open and enjoy, Really it is up to you, so go on and test your patience and see is it all worth waiting for and let us know:)

beetlejuice said:

Okay so everyone says let that "red wine" breathe.  But what time should it be allowed to breathe before enjoying.  And does this relate to all varieties of red or is there varying times for each variety?  Often I hear the saying "it should have been opened earlier for enjoyment now".  I have been looking through the forums but wasn't sure which section there may be something about this in.  Please some direction would be most appreciated as I do enjoy my red wine but sometimes wonder if it would have tasted that much smoother if I had opened it earlier.  Looking forward to your responses.