Wine on the Radio - April 7, 2003

Breathing 

To breathe or not to breathe.now that is a wine question.

It's one of those wine rituals that can make things confusing . . . does wine have to "breathe" before you serve it?   It helps mostly with younger, more complex wines.

Generally "breathing" these wines brings out more aromas and flavors and it may help off-odors to dissipate.  

There are three basic ways you can "breathe" the wine . . . you can

•  Open the bottle about an hour early but that narrow bottle neck doesn't let in much air or,

•  Just pour some into each glass you'll serve about twenty minutes before drinking. The simpler the wine the less time you'll need, but,

•  One of the easiest and handsomest ways is to pour the wine into a decanter to let it get more air.

"Breathing", or opening the wine for a while, exposes the wine to air which helps release more aroma, soften the natural tannins, and enhance drinkablity.

Pop the cork!

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