Benefits of and How to Aerate Wine

Aerating wine, or allowing your bottle to breathe,the wine more effectively than just uncorking the
is the process of allowing air to interact with yourbottle.
wine. This aeration allows the drink to warm upA better method to aerate is by use of a
and releases more of the wines aroma, allowing itdecanter. You may use anything for a decanter,
to taste better.as long as it has a large surface area. This large
There are several ways to aerate your bottle.surface area allows for more of your wine to
One way is to just leave it in the bottle, uncorked.interact with the air.
This method is easy but not very efficient. InA fourth method and more effective, is to use an
fact, only the surface area will interact with theactual aerator. This device fits over your glass or
air. Using this method, the most aeration youa decanter and you simply pour the wine through
receive is when you pour your glass of spirits.the aerator into your glass or decanter. This
See next paragraph for aeration by pouring.method is more efficient than the previous three
The second method to aerate is by pouring themethods since it allows more of the liquid to
wine into the center of the glass. Let it fall a goodinterface with the air. Using this method, you can
7 to 8 inches. This allows the air to interact withactually hear the aeration process as you pour.