Are you guilty of opening up a bottle of wine without waiting for it to breathe? Whether you’ve made the wine from a kit, or bought it from a store – allowing an extra few minutes to aerate a wine will enhance its taste.
Breathing or decanting a wine allows the tannins to oxidize – taking the edge off a wine. It’s red wines that need the time. White wines, except for some real ‘oaky’ wines, generally can be served directly out of the bottle.
How long? Experts agree that anywhere between 30 minutes to one hour will do the trick, depending on the age of the wine and how much sediment is in the bottom of the bottle. Nowadays, most wines – even when you make it from a wine kit – involve mechanical filtering, rendering the wine clarified, or almost virtually sediment free.
And if you really want to be fancy, you can always pour your wine into a decanter. Just keep a few things in mind.
After removing the cork, make sure that the neck of the wine bottle is clean and you have a clear view. Holding the decanter or carafe in one hand and the bottle in the other, with a smooth and steady action pour the wine.
As in all things wine – go slowly and take your time. What you don’t want to do is disturb the sediment at the bottom of the wine bottle. Keep your eye on the neck of the bottle and when you see the sediment appear, this is your cue to stop pouring.
In the end, you’ll have a great carafe of clear wine, and about half a glass of wine left in the bottle, which makes a great addition to gravy or can be frozen in an ice cube tray for future use.
Learning about wine is fun. And making your own wine from a kit is not just fun but educational and cost saving.
The Wine Butler would like to remind all it’s customers, to always drink responsibly.