We have all done it: opened a bottle of red wine, got a little over-zealous, took that first sip, and BAM, scrunched face! Fear not, here are several ways you can make that harsh and bitter taste turn into a smooth and open taste.
The most inexpensive way to open up the taste in your wine is to uncork the bottle and let it sit opened for about two hours before pouring your wine. Of course, waiting two hours for a glass of wine is a little excessive; if you are an avid wine drinker, it is a horribly long time to wait for wine! Don't worry, their are wonderful ways to get that bottle ready with a shorter wait time.
Another fun and inexpensive way to open up that wine is to pass the wine between two wine glasses several times. Although this sounds inane, it really works! After opening your bottle of wine, pour a glass of wine into a wine glass. Then pour that glass of wine into a separate wine glass. Continue pouring back and forth between the glasses several times. Believe it or not, you are introducing oxygen into the wine when you do this, which makes the wine smooth. While this is by far not the quickest way to aerate your wine, it sure is shorter than a two-hour wait!
Now let's talk about decanting devices, which can get a little expensive, but are a lot better for your wine than leaving it in the bottle or passing it between glasses. There are several different shapes, sizes, and colors when it comes to wine decanters. The size, shape and color are not really that important when it comes to opening up that special bottle of wine. Pick the decanter that fits your personality and your budget. Decanters can range in price from ten to several hundred dollars. If you are serving the Queen of England, I would suggest a more expensive decanter. But since you are probably just serving yourself and maybe a few friends, I would go with something a little easier on the budget.
The downfall to decanters is that they take several hours to smooth out a bottle of wine. For some, the wait is worth it, but for others – well, let's just say we want it now. For people who like their wine right away, there are wine aerators. An aerator is a wonderful invention that introduces air into wine as the wine passes through it. There are several different forms of aerators, and again, they can vary in price. However, aerators are primarily more expensive than decanters, ranging from forty dollars to several hundred. Don't think about the cost if you don't have to. It is well worth it to spend forty dollars on an aerator that is equivalent to four hours of decanting in seconds! You may cringe at spending the money now, but in the long run you will have no regrets.
Whatever your decanting or aerating needs are, enjoy your bottle of wine!