The purpose of letting wine breathe, or aerate, is to allow the wine to come in contact with the surrounding air helping to slightly warm it, causing the wine’s aromas to open up and be present. The flavor will tend to soften while the overall flavor characteristics will improve.

Red wines benefit most from breathing, however select whites will also improve with air exposure. Typically, most wines will improve with as little as 15-20 minutes breathe time. However, young wines with high tannin levels need more time to breathe. As an example, a young Cabernet Sauvignon may require about an hour for proper breathing and flavor softening to take place. Older wines (8+years) should be allowed to breath in a decanter and may take longer time. This allows greater surface area for the wine to come in contact with the air.

Whenever possible, do not let your wine breathe in the bottle it is stored. There is not sufficient surface layer contact and air flow to have any effect of the opening of the wine. Use a decanter or wine glass to let wine breathe.

In general, the more tannins in a wine (usually determined by the darkness of the wine), the more time it will need to breathe. A lighter-bodied red wine, such as Pinot Noir, has lower tannin levels and will need less time to breathe.