cool merlots before drinking

[Jerry D Mead]

A lot depends on what one means by chilling, and which Merlot you're talking about.

If by chilling, you mean leaving in the fridge over night or icing down for 30 minutes in an icewater bath...then I wouldn't recommend it either (hastening to add that if that's the way you like it, you should always drink what you like and our opinions be damned...but better not to inflict your personal taste on other people if it isn't the majority view).

But if you're talking about dropping room temp on a warm summer day (or even in a 70 degree house or restaurant) to something closer to cellar temperature (say 60 degrees F)...then I'm all for it.

The idea of room temp was developed when rooms were in old castles without central heating, and when people had real cellars from which to bring up the wine.

So chilled, yes...iced/refrigerated longterm...no.

Does breathing help wine? Sometimes...some of the tech types may try to explain why.

But once again I have to qualify. If you're talking about a waiter pulling the cork out of the bottle and leaving it set on the table for 15 minutes...that won't do a thing. Not much aeration is going to take place through that little hole in top and that tiny exposed wine surface.

If you mean splashing the wine into a decanter, or pouring it out into your glass and swirling it for 15 minutes while waiting for your entree...then there can definitely be an impact. Usually a softening of harshness and tannin in reds...a blowing off of sulfur dioxide should any be present...and an expanding and enhancing of elements of the bouquet.

If you want to impress your friends...learn how to fill your glass half full and swirl the wine fairly rapidly without wearing it on your necktie or blouse...sniffing it periodically...and when they ask why you're swirling your wine...tell them..."I'm volatilizing my esters." (Esters being aromatic compounds in wine). Sounds pretty sexy, what?

Another factor in chilling Merlot is the style of the Merlot...the soft fruity style will handle more chilling than will a big extractive style that's closer to what we expect from Cabernet Sauvignon.