Have you ever enthusiastically opened a bottle of wine, only to taste something astringent and bitter.. maybe like vinegar? This strange taste prevails itself from harsh tannins and other compounds e.g. sulfites, sulfides, and ethanol. Typically, we see this in bold young reds, where tannins have not yet softened and revealed the underlying notes. What can be done about this? Because most people do not have the time to put their bottle of wine in the cellar for a couple years. Yet still want to taste its key characteristics.. then you can aerate your wine!
Aerate?
Aerating wine essentially triggers two chemical reactions, oxidation and evaporation. When you peel a banana and do not eat it right away, it begins to turn brown. This is due to the oxidation process. Next, if you boil a pot of water and notice that you have less water than you started with, then you just witnessed the evaporation process, where liquid turns to vapor. When we aerate wine, we utilize both processes in order to yield a new bold taste.
Now, lets take a look at wine and why it needs to be aerated. Sulfites are added to wine to inhibit the oxidation process from taking place too early, which will make your wine taste flat by the time it is consumed and sulfides and ethanol occur naturally. When we introduce both oxidation and evaporation to the wine, which has hundreds of different compounds, we can essentially evaporate those compounds that are less desirable. You can learn more about the process here.
So you are not a chemist, now what?
Thanks to technology, we have aerators made specifically for wine to take out these unpleasant compounds and improve its key characteristics. Most aerators have similar outcomes, so it comes down to the style you want and the reviews of effectiveness. The following three aerators have excellent consumer feedback, so it comes down to your preference in the style.
1. Funnel
How it works: You pour the wine through the aerator as you would a funnel. The entire aeration process takes place while traveling through the funnel and comes out aerated on the other side.
2. Bottle Attachment
How it works: You insert the attachment into the bottle like you would a cork and pour the wine as you normally would. When you pour the wine into your glass it is aerated.
3. Pump
How it works: You put the attachment on the bottle, similar to the previous style. Instead of pouring the wine you can pump it as you would a beer tap, but instead of beer you have beautifully aerated wine.
