Wine aerators: pros and cons (if any) (tastes, Pinot, rum)

[Yeledaf]

I enjoyed some wine last night at a friend's house. After having a glass from a newly-opened bottle, he skipped the "breathing" and decanting rituals, and poured the next glass through an acrylic aerator, of a type I had not encountered before. Since we had each had a glass from a newly-opened bottle, we were able to compare. We both concluded that the aerated wine was noticeably better-tasting.

Have other Forum members experienced this? I would appreciate comments.

Thanks!

[NinaN]

Yes wine tastes better through the aerator. That's why people keep buying them

[smokingGun]

The advantage of an aerator is that you can "decant" glass by glass instead of the whole bottle at once. This is a benefit if you plan to drink the rest of the bottle over the next couple days. Oxygenation speeds the degradation of wine. So that double-decanted Pinot will taste tired & faded in 2 days while if it were aerated with the gadget it would still be fairly fresh.

[TheCityTheBridge]

Originally Posted by Yeledaf

I enjoyed some wine last night at a friend's house. After having a glass from a newly-opened bottle, he skipped the "breathing" and decanting rituals, and poured the next glass through an acrylic aerator, of a type I had not encountered before. Since we had each had a glass from a newly-opened bottle, we were able to compare. We both concluded that the aerated wine was noticeably better-tasting.

Have other Forum members experienced this? I would appreciate comments.

Thanks!

An aerator aims to let the wine "breath" without taking the time to wait with wine in the glass/in a decanter (it basically does so by exposing more of the wine directly to air as you pour). It is particularly effective, I think, if you plan on pouring a young bottle all at once for service. The pro is that the wine still opens up and you don't have to wait for it.

There are a couple of cons: 1) it won't remove any sediment, 2) it may be too harsh for older wines, and 3) you don't get a chance to taste the wine at different stages of aeration as you might if you drunk the bottle over the course of some time with just one other person.