The latest way to breathe your wine

[Marlene]

We first noticed the Breatheasy at the Ruth's Chris in New York a couple of months ago. The waiter there said they were just starting to use them.

This past Sat I took a large group to the Ruth's Chris in Toronto and they were using them there as well. The General Manager is a friend of mine and I asked her if I could buy one from her since we have been unable to find them in the retail market. She generously gave me one and we love it!

They are made in Australia breathing

Opinions from wine experts?

[Beachfan]

It could be of use. I'm not sure it isn't better than getting one of the really, really wide decanters. It's true that surface area exposed is a key component, but there is a time dimension that's important too.

It might be usefull for wines that don't need much time, and that you want to drink immediately.

[eatingmike]

Hmmmm...looks suspiciously like a FUNNEL to me.

[Marlene]

Hmmmm...looks suspiciously like a FUNNEL to me.

This is the write up on it:

The Wine breatheasy is designedto open the wine out and allow oxygen in the air to improve the drinkability of most wines, without harming or introducing any undesirable elements to the wine.

It is especially successful with wines which will improve with breathing, but you don't have time to decant and leave for hours at a time. These include wines consumed befor their peak, wine with a pronounced tannin and acid palate or wines which have spent a long time in the bottle.

When using the breatheasy in conjunction with a decanter, the wine balloons across the decanter's neck and is encouraged to cascade down the interior walls of the decanter. This increases the surface area exposure to oxygen. A filter fitted to the top of the unit catches any cork or sediment.

The displaced air from within the decanter then bubbles back through the wine balloon, further assisting the wine to breathe.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Gee I remember a discussion about this once on the wine boards. If I got it right, the air that the wine is exposed to when you pour it from the bottle into the decanter is enough to start the process of oxygenating the wine. And I don't think that constant exposure adds much to the mix. Remember, we are talking about a chemical reaction the wine has when it is exposed to oxygen. The issue then becomes how much additional oxygen do you need to expose the wine to to keep the process going? I don't think it's a matter of maximum exposure. But I stand to be corrected by our local eGullet chemist or oenologist.

[marcus]

I am not an expert, but I think that there are two processes that take place after a wine bottle is opened.

Breathing is the dissolving of oxygen into the wine which is a physical process which does not change the wine itself. This yields positive taste effects, and the Breatheasy would seem to enhance this process.

Oxidation is a chemical process in which the wine interacts with oxygen and changes. Eventually oxidation will totally destroy the wine. My understanding is that oxidation begins after about half an hour, especially if the wine has been decanted. The effects are a softening of the tannins and a loss of fruit. For a young wine with very hard tannins and a lot of fruit, the tradeoff may be positive, in that the wine becomes drinkable, although not as good as it would be if the tannins were to soften naturally in the bottle, with maximum preservation of fruit. So, although one may attain early drinkability, it is at a cost of not experiencing the full potential of the wine.

Older wines are typically decanted in order to remove the sediment. Except for Ports, this is a poor tradeoff. These wines should preferably be opened and poured directly into the wineglass for immediate drinking. Ports have particularly heavy sediment and are resistant to oxidation because they are fortified and sweetened, so Ports should be decanted.