Wine Rack Store Blog

Certain flavors and aromas are locked within wines until they are exposed to air. This exposure to air is called letting the wine breath or aerating the wine. With exposure to the air the flavor will change, soften, and the overall characteristics should improve. As with everything else, all wines will react differently.

Wines will generally respond well to 15 to 20 minutes of aeration. However, if the wine is young and full of tannins, then it could take up to an hour to aerate properly. Older wine has a different set of rules because it has a smaller window of perfection.

There are two different vessels that will aerate wine properly: a decanter or a wine glass. Just leaving wine to aerate in a bottle isn’t sufficient. You do not necessarily need a fancy glass decanter because a pitcher or flower vase will do the job just as well. The increased surface area is the key to allowing more air to make contact with your wine.

Hopefully these aerating tips will help you enjoy the wine off your wine rack to its fullest potential.

Labels: aeration, red wine, wine rack, wine rack store