Are your wine-related questions making you feel dizzier than the wine itself?
You’re not the only one!
When it comes to wine, no one wants to take a chance. It may be because wines are for the passionate drinkers, maybe because it’s just too precious to you or perhaps just because wines can be costly!
To add to the confusion, an entire concept of wine aeration is added to the process of enjoying a glass of fine wine.
With so many wines around, of different ages, origins, flavors, and colors, it is only natural to feel dizzy before the alcohol even kicks in!
This brings us to the point of this article. Different wines need different treatments and different aeration. This page will acquaint you with just that!
This page will answer the most frequently asked questions related to wine aerators and aeration.
Keep reading; keep sipping!
Should You Aerate Pinot Grigio?
One of the most popular wines and undoubtedly, the most popular white wine, Pinot Grigio, makes for a tricky wine. It is as refreshing as a fresh glass of lemonade, and if not for its punchy acidity, some may even confuse it a concentrated with fresh lime juice.
Also known as Pinot Gris, this white wine is dry and is available in a variety of flavors like lime, green apple, and honeysuckle.
As it makes a refreshing drink when served chilled, Pinot Griggio has a lot of fans.
The greater the number of fans, the greater is the question about its aeration raised.
Since aeration is the magic that air does on tannins, white wines with hardly any concentration of tannins don’t need aeration. Especially wines like Pinot Grigio, which are light-bodied.
Do Rose Wines Require Aeration?
Are you a fan of the pink, the dazzling and the sweet? Well, it’s you, and millions of others.
Rose wines are one of the wines that offer the highest variety.
The dryness levels can range from extremely dry Provencal Rose to the sweet blush of White Zinfandel. Talking about sweetness, you can’t get enough when it comes to Rose wines, literally.
These will offer you from moderate to highly sweet varieties and to add more to its incredibility, the parent grape varieties are also several!
So if you’re wondering whether your dazzling Rose needs aeration or not, the answer lies in the wine’s dryness. The dryness occurs due to the presence of tannins. If you’re consuming relatively dryer rose wines like Provencal Rose; it may benefit from a little wine glass aeration.
But that’s all it’ll need.
Rose wines are light-bodied with subtle flavors and more often than not, don’t require any aeration.
Should Cabernet Sauvignon Be Aerated?
Another French-origin wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, is one of the most widely consumed and loved red wines. It is produced in all major wine-producing countries and has won hearts far and wide.
However, if you’re a beginner, this is not the wine to start with.
Reason?
It’s dry and strong.
Cabernet Sauvignon doesn’t come close to sweet wines and has higher tannin concentration. But if you still want this to be your first, there’s an easy fix; aerate it!
Honestly, if there are wines that improve on aeration, you will be impressed by how Cabernet Sauvignon fits the list!
Being a tannic red, aeration softens the concentration, enhances the aromas and flavors, and makes it all the more worth it.
Does Moscato Need to be Aerated?
Moscato is the Italian name for Muscat Blanc, popular to be one of the oldest grapes that make wine.
However, its popularity has been recently exploding with pop culture.
A famous white wine, also known as a dessert wine, Moscato is extremely popular for its sweetness and pleasant flavors. It is soothing on your taste buds and also has low alcohol concentration.
It comes in peach and orange flavors, which complements its natural characteristics expertly and there’s hardly anything you need to do before you consume it, not even aerating.
It is light-bodied so you can enjoy it anywhere, anytime, with no need for aeration.
Does Aeration Benefit Merlot?
Following Cabernet Sauvignon suit in popularity, Merlot is another widely loved red wine.
Owing to its pleasant flavor and texture, it is one of the easier reds, that can be consumed with food as well as standalone, and is often recommended to people just starting with red wines.
Since Merlot is a smoother wine, its flavors explore the plummy and chocolate notes.
It is a wine that allures and won’t leave you with regret. It is so easy to drink that you don’t realize the tannins.
Merlot falls in the category to have young tannins, ready to be aerated and softened.
A little aeration can work wonders to enhance Merlot’s flavors.
So if you have a Merlot waiting in your cabinet, do introduce it with some good air before you sip it away.
Is Aeration Good For Malbec?
A rich dark colored wine with distinctive taste and textures is what we can describe Malbec as. With fruit flavors like blackberry, plum, and black cherry and a hugely popular smokey-tobacco finish, Malbec has a fandom of its own.
It’s dark, it’s charismatic, and it’s high in tannin concentration.
Especially if you have a younger red, you would want to go for those long minutes of decanting or a quick aerator treatment.
It won’t just be suitable for your Malbec; it’ll be better than you thought possible!
Wines and Aeration: The Rule of Thumb
Wine Aeration is no rocket science! It is basic science, though.
The easy logic that when the wine is exposed to air, the harsher and concentrated components turn subtle and pleasant, is all you need to understand.
With the above understanding, and that of tannin concentration, you can easily determine if your wine needs aeration or not.
In all the answers in the previous section, you will notice a pattern.
Wines with lower tannin concentration, light-bodied, and sweet characters need little to no aeration. Wines with high tannin levels, heavy-bodies, and dry characters need to be aerated to taste best.
As simple as that!