Why Does Wine Need to Breathe?

If you've ever been in a nice restaurant and havea large glass and let it sit for at least 10 minutes
ordered wine you might have been part of a ritualbefore drinking.
where the waiter will remove the cork to allowNot all wines need to breathe, though. As a
the wine to 'breathe'. This looks neat and cangeneral rule most red wines can benefit from
make you feel kind of important but does it reallybreathing. Especially young, tannic red wines.
do anything? Why does wine need to breathe?Allowing the wine to be aerated will improve the
When talking about wine when we say 'breathe'taste because the tannins will be soften making
we simply mean allowing oxygen into the wine.the wine less harsh.
This aerates the wine. Aerating wine can helpThe more tannic and younger a wine is the longer
improve the flavor and aroma particularly init needs to breathe before drinking. Most red
younger wines.wines will be better after just one hour of
Just taking the cork out of the bottle doesn'taeration.
really allow the wine to breathe though since theMost white wines can be drunk immediately after
opening of the bottle is too small to allow muchpouring and don't need to breathe.
oxygen in. A better way to allow your wine toThat is why wine needs to breathe. Hopefully
breathe is by pouring it into a wide mouth carafethese general guidelines will help you get the most
or decanter allowing more oxygen in andflavor and aroma out of your next bottle of wine.
increasing the amount of aeration your wine gets.Just give your wine room to breathe and you'll be
If you are only going to have a single glass ofvery happy together!
wine you can allow it to breathe by pouring it into