Gadgets? Decanting? Of the many methods and devices for opening up young wines, find out what really works.
How to aerate young wines
Philip Spencer, Edinburgh, asks: I’ve read about various devices which purport to speed up the time it takes to aerate young wines. Do any of these really work and which, if any, would you recommend?
Ronan Sayburn MS, head of wine at 67 Pall Mall, replies:
There are several ‘aerator’ style devices that don’t make much difference. One I think that does help is iFavine. This micro-oxygenates the wine by bubbling oxygen, scrubbed from the air, through the base of a decanter.
It is very expensive, at more than £1,000 for one iFavine device, but it does work.
The easiest and cheapest way to aerate wine quickly is to pour the wine into a decanter through a funnel.
Don’t worry about creating bubbles on the surface of the wine, this is just getting air into it. Funnel back and forth between bottle and decanter several times for extra aeration.
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Red wine for Christmas under £15
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