Swirling wine to release oxygen

Why swirl? Swirling helps the wine to grab some air like an eagle in the sky. While the wine is grabbing air, it will start to release some of the air trapped inside the wine and in turn release the essence of the wine otherwise known as the bouquet.

Now if you don't have a lot of confidence holding the wine glass in your hand and giving it a good swirl, all you need to do is place the glass on the table and move in a circular motion. This way your are less likely to spill any out of the glass. Once you get used to this motion you can start picking up the glass and start swirling the wine in the glass with your hand.

As I mentioned earlier, air is released from the wine. How is this so? The simple answer is that there is water in wine therefore oxygen. The complex answer is that the vineyard is watered not only via rain and/or irrigation but in the wine making process. This is where the oxygen comes in, water being 2 part hydrogen and one of oxygen - H2O.

With cheaper bottles of wine, there is more water added in the wine making process, as the concentration of the grape juice is less. While the more expensive bottles have not only a higher concentration of grape juice, they also have been taken care of i.e. oaked in barrels (American or French), hand picked and planned out blending of grape varieties. All this and more is what differentiates the cheap from the expensive. 

Fun little fact to finish off. How much water does it take to produce a glass of wine? 120 litres. How is this possible? This encompasses the whole wine making process from irrigation right up to the delivery.

Peace,
Cristian