I keep hearing that some bottles of wines should be left “open” for x-number of hours. I’m guessing this just means with the cork off? But if so then would the wine’s temp not rise beyond the usually recommended 18C? Especially if left at room temp…
Cork off. Defintely.
Regardless of whether this actually makes a difference or even leads to a positive development for the wine, the whole idea is to put the wine in contact with oxygen. There are several ways to achieve that, which all start with opening (uncorking) the bottle and optionally serving a small pour (usually to detect flaws and assess whether the wine seems ready to drink or not). After that you can choose between:
- letting the wine sit as is, uncorked (be careful that nothing falls into the bottle!)
- letting the wine sit as is, but recorked
- pouring it into a decanter, softly (to remove sediment) and optionally letting it sit for a certain amount of time
- pouring it into a decanter, with a splash (to maximise aeration), and optionally letting it sit
- pouring it into a decanter, letting it sit, pouring it back into the bottle (called “double decanting”, either to “further maximise” aeration, or e.g. to bring the bottle to a dinner, etc.)
I don’t think recorking a bottle (or putting a lid on a decanter) really makes a difference in terms of aeration, and it usually has the advantage that nothing is going to fall into the wine, or that “bad” smells (e.g. from cooking) will enter the bottle/decanter.
Re: temperature, that is a different process. It’s possible to put an open bottle or a decanter in a temperature-controlled environment (e.g. a passive cellar). There are also wine cabinets designed for this specific purpose (they are warmer than wine cabinet designed for long-term storage, and provide several zones at different temperatures). Additionally if the wine is coming from a particularly cold cellar, it’s certainly useful to let the bottle (opened or not) warm up for some time to reach proper serving temperature.
Well decanting and slow-oxing aren’t the same. So the writer should be specific. The idea of slow-oxing is to, well, slowly let a wine oxygenate. I’ve used this many times with older wine (and I mean older… 20+ years) and always seen the wine improve over when it was first opened. The key is 1) to dp this for hours, not a short time and 2) to leave the wine in the bottle. YOu may or may not recork it (sniff the wine and see). and you’ll usually pour a SMALL taste to check and to give it some airspace.
Why not just decant? First, because that affects the wine differently. YOu’re giving all of the wine oxygen at once and a lot of it. If you’re concerned about the wine declining quickly, decanting will hasten that.
Does it work? Yes. On older wines. Older is 20 or more years, not 10. It doesn’t hurt younger wines, but I think a good double decant a couple of hours is the way to go there.
AS for temp… I keep my house around 65F anyway. Having the wine warm to that isn’t a problem. IF you keep a house at 75 then, yes, this would be an issue. Slow ox in the cellar if you have one at home.
Thanks guys. Don’t yet have a wine fridge. Plan to buy later. So if I have to “leave it open” for a few hours I will leave a space in the wine fridge for this purpose. Most of this is common sense. Just wanted your experienced opinions.
They don’t need to be cold, just in a room that’s not actively warm. Obviously, if you don’t have a place that’s in the mid-60s and if your house is entirely inthe mid-70s that’s not going to work.
The temp in my place averages 71F. So not good. Obviously.Will eventually buy a good size wine fridge.
Have any of u used an areator? They’re supposed to speed up the airing out process. There’s one by Venturi…Do they work? Or is it just hype and market? I usually just leave the bottle (corked) out for about 30-45 minutes. Then pour…
Again, it depends on t he age of the wine. I’d only slow ox old wines. For new releases… decant, double decant, op and pour, whatever you want. I tend to like young wines decanted for 30-60 at least and I’ve had some that really open up after hours.
I don’t decant old wines and I’d not Vinturi them etc either. For middle aged wines… I’d decant probably. Some of this is experience of course… If I’ve had a 12 year old wine several times, I’ll know how it acted last time and adjust.
Would you venturi young wines (e.g. not more than 5 yrs old)? Does it work? Or, would you recommend only decanting to open young wines. Can’t see myself decanting for hours. Having to think ahead 5 hours. 
Assuming I am using a wine fridge or my room is roughly 65F (if I had a basement).
I’ve never tried the vinturi. I know others here have. Might want to search or perhaps someone will chime in. I can’t see it hurting a young wine…
I think there was a recent article in Decanter (available on the website) about putting wine in a blender, which should be close to the venturi idea.
Blender. HAHA!! Don’t have one of those yet. Might buy one in the future. But I doubt I’ll ever pour wine in one to aerate. You could try it and tell us how it goes. I might buy a Vinturi for the heck of it to experiment later.
I drink mostly old wines, so the blender doesn’t seem like such a good idea. And the young wines I drink aren’t bruisers, so no need for special aeration either. But I’m sure some people could be convinced by a scientific excuse to open a few bottles
More on the blender approach: https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/nathan-myhrvold-on-hyperdecanting/49633/1
I think there are three reasons of why to let a bottle open for a while (two of those already got mentioned): 1.) to let the wine “breathe” 2.) before decanting to remove the sediment 3.) to temper the wine. I’d like to offer a “recipe” for knowing when the wine is ready to be served: pour a glass of wine and watch the edges. When the wine shows an upwards buckling at the edges to the glass leave it open for more time. Whenever this upwards buckling has disappeared this is the signal, that the wine got enough oxygen to be served.
Please explain “buckling of wine”. What does “buckled” wine look like? Photo perhaps? Thanks.
Andrew,
Rick basically listed the Audoze Method of slow-ox. Stand the wine up, pop the cork, and leave it there for a while (4 hours). Then pour it into your glass and drink it.
If you have a young wine, or a very austere wine, you can use a decanter. Decanter’s are generally used to ensure no sediment gets into the wine, so pour slowly to ensure you don’t dump the dregs in. If you still want to aerate, just slosh the wine in the decanter around.
Vinturi is the same idea. It just spreads the wine out as it’s poured, which exposes more surface area to oxygen faster, resulting in a “quick decant.” Some people really like them, because they can spare you the use of a decanter.
You don’t need to worry about your wine being above 71 degrees for four hours. It won’t do anything to it. And, if you serve wine much colder, i.e. 55 degrees from cellar, the wine doesn’t release phenols at the same rate, resulting in a more muted wine. Allowing the wine to room temp (assuming red needing decanting) will result in greater aromatics.
I’m with Rick here, you simply don’t need to slow-ox the wine in your wine fridge.
K. JK,
Ummmm Ok. I assumed that was what was meant by “letting it open up for 6 hours”. Popping the cork then leaving it in the room. I just thought that this would surely bring the serving temperature beyond the recommended (approximately) 18C for reds. So the serving temp could become 21-22C. I usually just put the bottle on the counter till it’s “warmed up” enough with still a hint of chill. Then into a decanter. Swirl. Into glass. Enjoy.
Might buy a Venturi for the heck of it later. If I like. Then I use. If not it’s another toy in the cupboard.
But I always decant. Young or old wines. Aerate and/or remove sediment.
Andrew,
You’re not internalizing the point. Always doing X regardless isn’t the right approach if you want the wine to show its best. Slow oxing an old wine will usually help it show better than simply dumping it in a decanter. Decanting a young wine ahead of time, even 30 minutes, will help. If you can’t or won’t vary your approach depending on the wine then I’m not sure why you posted…
Rick,
I think YOU aren’t “internalizing” what I’m saying.
What I said was I’ve always decanted. Well most of the time anyway (have just uncorked and poured). Doesn’t mean I won’t try slow oxing for a few hours and a Venturi. I will experiment. See what works for me. If it’s slow oxing then that is what I’ll do. Even if the serving temp rises past 17-18C (my room temp is usually around 21C). As I said I go by feel. Leave the bottle out for maybe 30 or so minutes. Serve with a slight chill still on the bottle.