WHAT IS TO LET A WINE "BREATHE"?

Breathing:

• There is some debate about the benefits of letting wine breathe. Advocates believe that the practice allows wines to soften (especially younger red wines with high tannins) and the bouquet to evolve and develop complexity. Detractors say breathing dulls the wine's flavor and diminishes its liveliness. 

• There's no argument that many wines simply don't benefit from breathing, generally most white and rosé wines, as well as many lower-quality reds. Wines that do benefit are usually higher-quality vintage red wines and some superior whites. 

• Care should be taken with very old wines in that too much aeration may cause them to lose some of their fragile bouquet and flavor.

How to Let Wine Breathe:

• Simply uncorking the bottle for a few minutes isn’t enough—it exposes only a small surface area.

• Swirling in a glass allows more contact with air—helpful for individual pours.

• Using a decanter is the most effective method—pouring wine into a wide-bottomed vessel increases the surface area exposed to oxygen.

• Aerators (devices that force air into wine as it’s poured) are a quick way to simulate decanting.