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+--- Thread: Letting It Breathe (/thread-15775.html)
- MontereyRick - 12-09-2002
I'm sure the answer to the following question varies depending on the varietal and the age of the wine, but here goes anyway..
What length of time is appropriate for a wine to breathe prior to drinking in order for it to get to its peak?
Sat night, wife and I went to The Whaling Station (great Monterey restaurant) and brought a bottle of 96 Grgich Hills Cab. We had the waiter pop it upon sitting down and proceeded to have a cocktail and an appetizer and did our best to not touch the wine. I'd say at least 20 minutes went by before anyone had a sip. While the first sip was good, it was amazing how much the wine had "smoothed out" (for lack of a better term) by the end of our meal. It seemed as though it just kept getting better and better until there was well... nothing left in the bottle.
Anyway, is there a rule of thumb you experts live by?
- Innkeeper - 12-09-2002
It depends a lot on what wine you are dealing with. Restaurants are a paticular problem, because unless they are fancy enough to have a wine steward on premises, you chances of getting a wine decanted are between slim and none. The best bet is to a least let it get poured (which I guess you did) and let it set a spell. From what you wrote, you came pretty close with this one. Of course, it would have been difficult to wait longer.
I decant for aeration almost all red wine. Don't decant Nouveau Beaujolais. How long before eating, again depends on the indiviual wine. It might range from five minutes to five hours. How long depends on what you know from experiance, reading, and pure dumb luck. A year or so ago Drew recommended a 1999 Rosemount Hill of Gold Cabernet. I saw that it was available at South Hemisphere Wine Company, and ordered three. After letting it rest for a couple of weeks after shipment from the Left Coast (resting is another issue), we popped one with a steak. It was as tight as a drum (think Drew likes them that way). Having vowed to leave the other two in the rack for a few years, another situation came up a couple of months later, when we needed a wine like that. So I decanted one four hours before dinner. It was fine. The third one is still in the rack.
[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 12-09-2002).]
- winoweenie - 12-09-2002
Hi Monterrey and a small aside. Decanting will help absolve some of the rough edges of a wine but as I read your post, let me say, decanting does NOT do the same thing as ageing in the bottle. Aromatics, resolving tannins, and the total integration of acid, with all these other components cannot be achieved by decanting. The only way to experience the aged wine pleasure is bottle ageing. WW
- MontereyRick - 12-10-2002
I didn't mean to infer that opening a bottle and letting it breathe for a period of time would provide the qualities of aging.
I was just wondering if you experts brought a nice bottle of Cab to a restaurant (or another place where decanting wasn't an immediate option); I brought a 96 Grgich Hills Cab.... how long would that bottle need to breathe in order to get the most out of it that night? We poured a glass for both of us and waited about 20 minutes (because I couldn't keep my hands off of it any longer) While the first sip was good, it seemed to get better for the duration of the meal... what do you guys consider the ideal time? 15minutes? 30minutes? 1 hour?
- Glass_A_Day - 12-10-2002
Wine starts to change as soon as it is opened. The time it is exposed to air is only one of three factors that affects the taste of the wine. A wine will also change after you begin to eat. The food itself will change the way a wine tastes as soon as you begin to eat. The last thing is alcohol. The more you drink, the better a wine tastes. That's why it is advisable to spit when you go to a wine tasting or you may end up bringing home some less that tasty bottles. As far as how long goes, I generally open cabs 15-20 minutes before dinner. I know that the wine hasn't completly opened up at that point, but i enjoy tasting it change as I dine. There are many levels of "open" within every bottle and I tend to enjoy them all.
[This message has been edited by Glass_A_Day (edited 12-10-2002).]
- joeyz6 - 12-10-2002
I agree with GAD, that the food changes how the wine tastes and the alcohol tends to soften your impression as well. I think the amount of time needed, Monterey, depends on the wine. But as a general rule, for my taste, 30 minutes in the glass is easily sufficient for reds. But sometimes I prefer a wine a whole day after it's been opened.
- wondersofwine - 12-10-2002
Whaling Station is one of my all-time favorite restaurants and I used to visit it for my birthday when I lived in Monterey County. On my first visit back since the renovation I didn't dine there. Last September I did, half afraid that the changes would disappoint me compared to fond memories of the old decor and atmosphere. However, although it is changed, and the menu somewhat changed too, I was not disappointed. Still a great place to dine.
- winoweenie - 12-10-2002
In agreement totally with the Station and also have had many enjoyable meals at the Sardine Factory. Haven't been going to The Peninsula as often as I used to as I've cut my travelling to the valley (Napa) to once a year. Love the area, the golf courses, the restaurants etc.WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/frown.gif[/img]
- Bucko - 12-10-2002
I let most wines breathe for an hour or so. Exceptions to the rule are old, old wines, which fade rather quickly, and Port, which may need to breathe overnight.
- Drew - 12-10-2002
You could always double decant. Open and decant the wine at home for a period, recork and take to the restaurant where they'll re-open and decant again or serve. BTW, IK's dyslexia is showing again. I recommended the '98 Hill of Gold Cab, not the '99, no wonder it was tight. The '99 rec was the Shiraz....sheese!
[img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img] Drew [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]