Real-life Experience with One Bottle and 5 Aerators

There are so many different ways to aerate wine and it seems like everyone has an opinion on what is the right way to do to it. My opinion is this -if it works for you and you like it – use it and love it and never let it go! I have 2 favorites in this line up that I use regularly, so I decided to branch out from my standard aerators to try a few new ones to see how they stacked up. If it works well and makes my wine taste great. It all boils down to ease of use, cost and how much time and energy do I spend cleaning it or cleaning up after use. Here is what I thought about it using the same bottle of a Washington State Tuscan Red Blend (Brian Carter – Tuttorosso).

Vinturi Wine Aerator

Venturi is what I call your standard aerator. Open bottle, hold Venturi in one hand over glass pour wine with the other. This is a consistent aerator that is easy to clean and durable. With this one you aren’t required to open the entire bottle. You can pour from your Coravin through this aerator which is one reason I like this one. The rest of the aerators I have used require you to open the bottle. This one let’s you pour from the Coravin into the aerator into your glass. Venturi has a stand you can purchase that holds the aerator that makes this a lot easier. Now if you have a massive amount of eye hand coordination the stand isn’t necessary but it helps you not make a mess. This one also can get tricky if you aren’t on your first glass of wine. Vinturi also has a white wine aerator that I didn’t know existed until I did research for this article. If you are a big white wine drinker may also be worth a try. This aerator will set you back a decent Tuesday bottle of wine is very durable for years of use.

Vintorio Wine Aerator Pourer

This is a space saving aerator – it is small but mighty. Fits inside the bottle and aerates as you pour into your glass. I liked this one for several reasons, easy to use even if you are using it on what may not be your first glass. The pour out isn’t messy and comes out fairly steady which allows for better pour control. The red blend opened up with this aerator rather nice. To make sure it wasn’t a fluke I have used this aerator again on a Spanish red blend and the results were the same. Better to drink with this aerator than without and at the price is less than a bottle of most of wines.

Soirée Red Wine Aerator Decanter

I’m all about presentation and storage – this aerator comes on a holder that is made of a wine bottle top! Has to be called out, when I opened it out of the box it was the first thing I noticed. This little guy can be displayed with your wine as it is a statement piece when not in use. This one also is easy to install into the wine bottle although the bubble of the aerator does make me leery of using after you have had a glass for fear of breaking it but that could be my own issue. The wine poured through it ok – it was a little messy in that you need to ensure you have the end of the aerator in your glass to prevent splatter. That again could be a me issue, but I felt like I needed to pay more attention to what I was doing so that I didn’t make a mess. Wine was good after going through it – the pour was slower so if you are jonesing for a glass this may not be the aerator I would reach for. Price point is about the same as a Tuesday bottle of wine.

Decanter Vases

This one isn’t for everyone – depending on the size you get you will typically only use this when you plan on drinking the entire bottle. This is a show piece for a dinner party you can set it on the table and use it as part of the centerpiece décor. I love this because you can pour the entire bottle in easy and let just chill and pour easily when ready to drink. Note for this one when cleaning make sure you get all the cleaning solution out and rinse good! There are tools or special brushes made to help clean it out. I like this one overall for ease of use and the aeration on the wine is great. You can also use this to pour other liquids not just wine, for those occasions when you just need a pitcher of bourbon sweet tea. Another bonus you can find decanter vases in all shapes and sizes so you can get one that suits your storage space and wine style best. Price these start at a bottle or two of wine and go up from there depending on how ornate you want to get.

Crystal Wine Decanter
Aria Crystal Decanter
HiCoup Hand-blown U-shaped Decanter

Menu Winebreather Carafe

Back in the day – before this cool new aerator came on the scene one would maybe … if you are willing to admit it – pour your wine into a decanter let it do its thing and then funnel it back into the bottle. Well that is no longer needed if you get this cool little guy. Pop on the attachment and decanter and FLIP it! Yep you read that right – Flip that bad boy and watch the wine like sand through an hour glass. Once it is done get ready and yep you guessed it – FLIP it! Once the wine is back in the bottle you are ready to drink! When testing this one out – I also realized if you have a younger wine that needs a little more air you could flip it a third time and pour out of the decanter as well. This one is just straight up fun! The wine comes out tasting great and you have a fun thing to watch and talk about while you wait for it to aerate. This fun party trick will set you back a few bottles of Tuesday night wine but so worth it.

In Summary

I really did like each of these for different reasons. The Flip-the-bottle is a fun party trick aerator, the pop-em in the bottle and pour are easy to pour as you need it. The classic glass aerator for your more classic dinner parties is stunning on tables as a center piece when I am looking to aerate the entire bottle. For me, personally the Vinturi is best as I can run wine from a Coravin through it.