As a true wine lover, I do not just love to drink it.  I love the process of winemaking, I love the decisions a vintner makes to perfectly blend or age a superior wine.  I also love the rating system discussions since there is so much room for subjectivity.  One genre of wine that often gets ignored is that of kosher winemaking.  It is a process of steps that are essential for Judaism, and I have recently learned the value of Kosher wine aeration.  Prior to utilizing my Wine Weaver wine aerator on the Palwin No. 10 that was purchased, I familiarized myself with the steps of the kosher winemaking.

Like the majority of kosher products, it must receive a seal of approval to receive the label “kosher.”  While the winemaking process rarely uses any of the forbidden foods in the typical fermenting and bottling process, there is an element that makes this product different from all others.  Kosher wine is actually cooked or boiled, as this is considered to make it unfit for pouring to or for an idol.  This follows the laws of Judaism and will keep the kosher status if it is subsequently touched by a an idolater(someone who worships to an idol.)

I have found this process very interesting as kosher wine has a very different taste and bouquet than regular wine.  This cooking process also gives the need for aeration in order to bring out the most flavor, and maximize the value of your purchase.

When sniffed my very first pour of kosher wine, I noticed the smell was not quite as vibrant as the Pinots and Cabernets I typically drink.  The flavor itself seemed stale, and I knew immediately the wine should be exposed to as much oxygen as possible.  Utilizing a decanter seemed in order to make sure there was consistency and a breakup of accrued sediment, but I did not have one available.

The process of exposing the wine to oxygen, also know as letting a wine breathe, is greatly increased when using a decanter or wine aerator as the surface area of the wine is maximized.  Since my trusty Wine Weaver aerator was on hand, it was used for two separate pours into separate wine glasses.

To make sure I was increasing the surface area of the kosher wine as much as possible I utilized the largest wine glasses available.  The shape and volume of the glass allowed for efficient swirling, and increased the oxygen appropriately following the wine aeration.

The bouquet of each glass of wine changed dramatically.  Each glass of wine smelled fantastic, and the aroma smelled much more of fruit, as it should.  The most dramatic change was in the flavor of the wine, as it went from stale to beautifully aromatic.  This was only after a minute of breathing following aeration.

While I may have other wines I would prefer to drink over kosher wine, the aeration with the Wine Weaver proved valuable and certainly brought out the most out of my bottle of kosher wine.  If your drink kosher wine at family functions, make sure you bring your wine aerator because everyone will thank you.

Since 1863 every American has been able to count on having something very important in common, Thanksgiving Day.  It occurs on the fourth Thursday in November, and is a time to bring neighbors, friends, and family together to give thanks for the abundant lifestyle in which they live.

The traditional feast that takes place involves serving turkey, potatoes, corn, and all the trimmings.  Similar to the times of the pilgrims, wine is also served, which reminds me of the very first Thanksgiving Day celebrations I attended with my wife’s parents.

Wine Aerator

At the time my wife and I were simply dating.  It was only the second time I had met her entire family, so there was a lot of pressure.  While my future sister & brother in law prepared the turkey and side dishes, my mother in law asked me to open up three separate bottles of wine.  She was told I knew a lot about wine, and wanted to do a taste test of the two bottles she purchased versus the bottle of wine I brought from home.

I almost couldn’t believe this challenge was occurring, but what she didn’t realize was that I had brought my Wine Weaver wine aerator.  I knew that her wines didn’t stand a chance when I asked for a wine decanter and she had no idea what I was talking about.  While her wines were good selections, it was obvious that the amount of oxygen that would be helping bring out the best aroma and flavor of each wine was not enough.

I poured a glass for each person that wanted one, but made sure I used my wine aerator only with the pours of my wine.  I watched the faces of my soon to be in-laws as they forced their way through their stale glass of wine, described as tasting like spoiled grade juice.

It was an absolute joy to see them appreciate the wine I had brought to the feast, even if I was getting far more credit than I deserved.  Since I wanted to make a reasonable impression with them, I let them in on the secret of using a wine aerator, and used it on the remaining wine they purchased.  The wine not only became more enjoyable, but they started to understand the importance of tannins and oxygenation to bring out the best in a glass of wine.

Until that day, I had never recognized the importance of a good wine on Thanksgiving Day.  More importantly, a wine in which the Wine Weaver wine aerator was used.  It helped my new family bond with me on a subject that is very important in my life, and gave them a new perspective on the science and chemistry involved in the process of wine.  While we don’t discuss those events all too often, it has made each and every Thanksgiving Day since far more enjoyable.  We also learned not to do a taste test challenge with our wine aerator.

Choosing the Right Aerator

These days it’s pretty much essential for any wine lover to have a wine aerator on hand. It’s a simple fact that giving wine time to breathe, to mix with the air to bring out the subtle flavors so that the true essence of the win comes out, is the only way to really enjoy wine as it was intended to be enjoyed.

This has meant, generally speaking, that you needed to slowly pour the wine into a decanter, mixing it with the air, and then let it sit for a while so that you were able to get the right mix. If you’re having a formal dinner party, doing this can actually be part of the whole experience and added to the enjoyment of the wine.

On the other hand, if you like to have wine on a daily basis, the whole decanting process can rapidly get tiresome. Wine aerators give the best of both worlds, allowing you to enjoy all the flavors of the wine without spending all time necessary to decant it, which is a huge bonus to the dedicated wine lover.

A wine aerator is basically a piece of glassware that mix the wine your pour into with the air as it goes through it, allowing the air to mix with the wine much, much faster than if you were simply pouring it into the decanter. This is accomplished by means of the arrangement of tubes and spouts, and how well this works depends entirely on the design.

There are basically three things that you need to look at to choose the right wine aerator for you:

How Well the Aeration Works

Simply put, some aerators work better than others. The most cheaply designed won’t give you anymore flavor than you would have got than if you’d merely poured the wine into a glass. At the other end of the spectrum, a truly well designed aerator will actually give you more flavors than simple decanting. What you want to look for is an aerator that was designed by sommeliers and has a good reputation.

How Easy It Is To Use

Some aerators work very at mixing the wine and the air together but are pretty much a complete loser in every other respect. The most common problem is that you have to hold the aerator above the wine glass and end up spraying the wine every where, which is a terrible thing to do to a nice wine. Make sure you look for an aerator that actually gets the wine in the glass.

How Durable It is

Wine aerators tend to be fairly fragile, since they’re made of a lot of tubes and tunnels in a small glass space. Some of them are shockingly easy to break and difficult to clean without catastrophe. Your best option is to get something that can actually stand up to daily use.

The wine aerator that gives you the best mix of all three qualities is the UK’s Wine Weaver; the aerator does a superb job of mixing the air and wine, it actually fits into both wineglasses and decanters, and the thing is very nearly indestructible. The Wine Weaver also has an attractive price, so I give it the highest recommendation.

The Wine Weaver Reviewed

Giving your wine time to breathe is essential to getting the true experience of a wine’s flavor and feeling. If you’ve previously been just opening up a bottle and drinking it immediately, then the simple change of giving wine time to breathe is going to make a huge difference in your enjoyment of the wines you choose.

The effect that this will have is going to depend heavily in the kind of wine you choose. If you’re drinking a younger wine, giving it time to breathe is going to mellow out the harsher notes and make it a more pleasant experience. The effect on older wines is almost the exact opposites, as it brings out lost flavors and allows you to taste subtle flavors that you might miss if you were just going to drink it straight from the bottle.

The problem with this is that while giving the wine time to breathe, it also means that you have to decant the wine and allow it in the mix with the air so that the molecules of the wine have time to interact with the oxygen in the air. While this works, it’s also incredibly time consuming.

Which is why some enterprising folks have created wine aerators, which are designed to allow the air to mix with the wine as your pour, so that you can enjoy the full flavor of wine without having to decant and wait. If you’re someone who wants to enjoy your wine without having to go through the whole ritual first.

Like anything else, not all wine aerators are created equal. The two main things to consider with wine aerators are how well they work and their aesthetics. You need a wine aerator to actually do the job it was designed to do, and you also want something that’s going to not look like something created by a glassblower who had a sneezing fit.

The Wine Weaver is a wine aerator that is extremely popular in the UK but is just now beginning to make itself known as an essential part of any wine lover’s kitchen in the United States. The Wine Weaver is getting quite a reputation, but does the actual device live up to the hype.

The first and by far the most important thing to consider is whether or not the Wine Weaver actually does what it’s intended to do: does it bring out the full flavor of the wine. The answer is an unequivocal yes.

The Wine Weaver’s design is where it takes its name from; as it weaves the wine around the air, a process that gives you an optimum mix of air and wine, and it really b rings out the subtle flavors of virtually any wine. It’s also designed so that it can work with both a decanter and individual wineglasses, which makes it a very flexible aerator.

The functionality would probably be enough to recommend the Wine Weaver on its own, but it’s a pretty nifty piece of work. It’s made out of more or less unbreakable polycarbonate in a beautiful design, so you’ll be happy to have it on your table.

Give Your Vino the Breath of Life with a Wine Aerator to Receive the Fullest Depth of Its Bouquet

Do you know that some wine connoisseurs can actually tell with significant accuracy the origin of the wine, by country or region, even the vineyard, just by sampling it’s bouquet? It’s quite likely that such an amazing performance was preceded by the wine being fully aerated, it’s full essence then belying the clues of its origin. To the connoisseur, the immediate escape of aroma and bouquet is paramount, and a wine aerator will provide that immediate aromatic presence.

You see, a uniqueness of wine among drink and food is it’s containment of such a large variety of compounds, often unique to their land of birth and bottling process, a kind of wine DNA; their essence best released through aroma and taste after the process of aeration.

These tastes and aromas may be quite subtle, delicate to the palate, or sense of smell; or they may be strong, near overwhelming. A mixture of such tastes and aromas are like individual instruments in an orchestra that can be heard and recognized by a trained listener’s sense of hearing; likewise they can be individually recognized and subsequently linked historically to the wine’s origin.

An adept connoisseur while detecting and analyzing such a dominant taste might proclaim, “This wine has such a stark flavoring of blackberry there’s little doubt in what region of France it was bottled. Or, “The slight tone of honey narrows it down to one of two vineyards in Italy.”

Absolutely; a wine lover who is well-storied in the geographical history of winemaking coupled with the aromas, the fragrances and tastes of such wines could fascinate and amaze those without that knowledge and flair.

This kind of romantic endeavor proceeds once the bottle of wine has been opened; then the process of aeration begins, however it is a lengthy process compared to using a wine aerator, which allows the wine to fully breathe virtually immediately.

The aeration process is not particularly complicated. There are variations of style and process among aerators, but the process is basically the same. Just after the bottle of wine is opened, through direct pouring or some other means the wine enters the aerator, which it would then pass through as the aeration process takes place. Most likely the wine glass would be directly below the aerator to receive the aerated wine.

There are actually some aerators that are placed within the bottle.  Again though, the aeration process is basically the same, regardless of the style of the wine aerator or variation of the basic wine aerating process.

Especially considering that wine aerators are not particularly expensive, whether you consider yourself a connoisseur of fine wines or not, does it make sense to bring out the absolute best taste and aroma, regardless of whether you’re popping the cork
on an arm-guarded 1787 Chateau d’Yquem worth about $56,000, or unscrewing the cap on a very well reviewed $5.00 bottle of 2005 Beringer Chenin Blanc from the supermarket? Of course it does.

Enjoy.  And aerate!
Resource Box

I highly suggest that you take a further, more detailed look at the best wine aerators available to immediately, and inexpensively, add breath and a new depth of brilliant aroma and taste to your choice of wine. The Wine Weaver stands out as one of the few most well-reviewed wine aeration systems. An almost magical wine accessory that no wine lover can afford to be without.

It’s not necessary to be a vintage wine collector, sommelier, or vintner to appreciate a perfect glass of wine.  However, all of these experts know that the process of decanting and aeration can peak the aroma and taste of a wine that is aged or of newer vintage.  There are tremendous differences for selecting aeration over decanting, and here are the top 3 reasons to use a Wine Weaver wine aerator.

The Wine is Not Aged

When a wine has aged for a decade or more it is common for sediment to have developed.  When this occurs, it is wise to decant the entire bottle of wine to break up the sediment.   This process is not really needed with a newer vintage and that is when a wine aerator is used to allow for a quick release of the finest qualities of the wine.

Since a newer wine does not have the collection of sediment, a good wine aerator will allow for an increase in the surface area of the wine.  An aged vintage would require a decent wine decanter for full enjoyment.

Do Not Want Wine Go to Waste

While decanting can bring the aroma and flavor that you want of out a decent bottle of wine, you may run into issues if you only want one glass.  Proper aeration with an excellent wine aerator can allow for a single serving of your favorite red wine without allowing for over oxidation.  This could be a perfect reason to open that older vintage on your own, since you do not want too much oxygen exposure.

If an older vintage receives too much oxidation, there is no going back.  So you end up in the enviable position of drinking more wine than you want, or pouring money down the drain.  Something any person who appreciates finances or imbibing does not want to do.

Time is of the Essence

Have you ever been out for a special evening and were on a tight schedule to make an event?  I had the experience of sharing a special evening with someone and had thought we had plenty of time to make the ballet after dinner.  Being the collector that I am, I brought my perfectly aged Pinot Noir from home and handed it to the sommelier.

The sommelier opened the wine, to let it breath on its own.  I suggested aerating the wine since we had less time than originally planned, however he looked at me like I had two heads.  The idea of using a wine aerator must have been a major faux pas to him.

In the end we drank a subpar bottle of a extremely high scoring bottle of wine.  The amount of oxygen released into this vintage was not appropriate for the amount of time we could allow.
When time is of the essence, either make more time, or simply use a wine aerator.

Proper wine aeration has become a big part of my appreciation of wine.  While I have my collection age properly, I enjoy buying the recommended local wines that do not require such a long shelf time.  Enjoying a newer wine has never been better than when I use a Wine Weaver wine aerator.