Why allow wine to breathe

Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products.

List of Partners vendors. Featured Video. Read More. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for thespruceeats. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.

These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Swirling your glass is effectively aerating the wine, even if briefly, but what about letting a wine breathe for a longer period of time?

I would probably open it in advance and try to find the right type of glass. If decanting a wine, Robert said that he would allow it to sit in the decanter for around one hour, on average. Perhaps you have also noticed this yourself. As mentioned above, it is commonly asserted that aerating some wines — particularly bolder reds — can help to soften tannins and release fruit flavours. In , an article in the Journal of Agricultural Chemistry found evidence that ethanol evaporates once a wine has been poured into the glass, slightly lowering the abv content.

The truth is this: It entirely depends on the wine. But some types of wine that are rich in tannins compounds that come from the grape skins and seeds can benefit from a period of time in a decanter, to soften the astringent taste.

If you really want to know if a particular wine would benefit from being given time to breathe, try your own experiment at home. Buy two bottles, decant one, and let it breathe for an hour.

Do you notice a difference in the taste? One word of warning: No matter where a wine comes from, it is possible to overexpose it to oxygen. That, friends, would be one hell of a waste. Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer?