Popping the cork (or unscrewing the cap) of a bottle of red wine is one of my favorite daily events (ok, yes, daily). This also allows the wine to “breathe” as it comes into contact with oxygen. Pour the wine into a glass and the surface that is exposed to the air expands; the wine “opens up,” develops a fragrant bouquet, deepens in flavor. Wine snobbery? Perhaps. Yet, an old Italian winemaker shared his method for breathing with my uncle. “Open the wine and allow it to breathe for one hour for every vintage year before you plan to drink it; put the bottle in the refrigerator for the last hour. Do this whether the wine cost five dollars or fifty dollars.” He went on to explain. “Vintage is the year the grapes were picked, the year is always on the label. The longer the wine has been in the bottle, the longer it needs to wake up, to stretch its arms and legs. Some say red wine should be served at room temperature. No! Red wine should be served at cellar temperature; one hour in the refrigerator will do this.”
He stopped and looked up at the ceiling of his small cellar. An open bottle and two glasses had been sitting on a barrel in front of them. He poured two glasses of deep red wine. He swirled, sniffed, sipped, smiled. He put down his glass and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in followed by a gentle exhale out. He repeated this four times in slow succession, his belly rising and falling softly with each breath. He opened his eyes, sipped, then spoke. “Not only the wine needs to breathe. We need to breathe as well. We inhale what is needed, we exhale what is not. We inhale peace, we exhale pain. We inhale thanks, we exhale want. We breathe to open our minds, we breathe to open our hearts. To breathe is to be alive – for us and for the wine.”