Aeration
Aeration is the process of adding air to your wine to soften it up a bit, taking off some of the bite. Everyone has seen a wine drinker swirl their wine around their glass, this is done to expose the wine to more air than it would if left stagnant in the glass. Aeration also will bring out some of the aromas latent in the wine while it rests in the bottle. There are several products on the market market that will do a pretty good job of aerating a bottle.
Decanters
Decanters were first invented by the Romans to take sediment out of wine. The aeration from an old style decanter comes from the increased surface area exposed to air in the wide base of the vessel. The process of decanting is simple, pour your bottle of wine in then wait about three hours. Voila! aerated wine with the added bonus of less sediment in your glass.
At table pouring devices
Almost all at table devices work by siphoning surrounding air into the stream of the wine while you are pouring into your glass. These do a good job aerating a bottle that needs just a little bit of help. It works well for if the bottle is just a bit too young, or a little more "taniny" than you would prefer. These are also great for single serving. As opposed to a glass decanter, where you have to pour an entire bottle, you can pour one glass at a time.
The Rabbit Wine Aerating Pourer
The Vinturi
Hyperaeration
Hyperaeration, sometimes referred to as Hyperaeration, is the process by which a very large volume of air is infused into the wine in a very short amount of time. Hyperaeration can make a cheap bottle of wine taste far less cheap, and nothing at all like the porpoise hork it started as. My preferred method for hyperaeration is a stick blender in a rocks glass for single servings and in a glass bowl for larger servings. For extra points, I will pour the aerated wine into a decanter or carafe for table serving.
