Hmmmh .... how does breathing relate to wine? Breathing is aeration which refers to exposing large surface area of the wine to the surrounding air. Sometimes, simply leaving it in your wine glass for a few moments will bring out the character of a wine sometimes, it is necessary to decant a wine. By allowing wine to mix with air allows it to warm and the aromatics will be released, the flavor profile should mellow and the characteristics should improve.
Do all wines need to breathe? Generally red wines benefit the most from breathing before serving. However, there are certain whites (young) that will also improve with a little air exposure.
In general, most wines will improve with as little as 15-20 minutes of air time. However, if the wine is young with high tannin levels, it will need more time. i.e., a young Cabernet Sauvignon will probably need approximately an hour for aeration and flavor mellowing to occur. BTW this does NOT mean you can’t simply uncork and drink the wine of your choice, but for the wine to give you its best a little aeration helps, it just means waiting a little :-)
Every thing I just said holds true for younger wines the same cannot be said for older wines 7 years or more these wines will should be decanted for aeration as well as removing sediment (wines especially Red wines that have been bottle aged tend to throw off sediment which does not look appealing and can taste funny/gritty). Therefore, these older wines should be decanted but not left for a long time as they can/will lose there flavor quickly if left too long.
In general, the more tannin a wine has the more time it will need to aerate. Lighter-bodied red wines (Pinot Noir for example) that have lower tannin levels will need little time to breathe.
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