Some red wines benefit more from a little air than others. Light varieties like pinot noir and chianti usually shine just fine straight from the bottle, while medium and full-bodied reds often really benefit from being given time to breathe.
Aerating, as the name suggests, involves letting red wine come into contact with air, specifically the oxygen in it, which enhances its flavour, softens its taste, and balances the flavours. Simply uncorking or unscrewing the bottle an hour before pouring can help, but the narrow neck limits how much air reaches the wine, so proper aeration usually takes more time.
I’ve been looking at the different ways aerators can speed up this process, from simply inserting a pourer/aerator in the bottle, using a handheld aerator above each glass and finally to decanting the whole bottle using a specially designed aerator. Each should provide you with a more balanced wine, with an improved bouquet and an enhanced flavour. I’ve put this testing into a complete guide to help you choose the best aerator for your wine. Keep reading to see which I recommend.
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The best wine aerators for 2026 are:
- Best overall – Final Touch conundrum aerator and revolve decanter: £75, Johnlewis.com
- Best budget option – Uberstar wine aerator: £17, Uberstar.com
- Best electronic option – CellarDine rouge 02 electronic wine breather: £11.25, Dexam.co.uk
- Best for style – Final Touch conundrum wine aerator: £15, Johnlewis.com
How I tested
I put a range of wine aerators to the test. Each aerator and aerating decanter was tested with the same non-aerated supermarket red wine. The wine was tested before aeration and then sampled after aeration had taken place. I considered design (an aerator shouldn’t be difficult to use), effectiveness (I wanted my wine to taste better after aeration) and price (a good aerator shouldn’t break the bank). I’ve gone into more detail about my testing criteria at the end of this article.
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Final Touch conundrum aerator and revolve decanter
Best: wine aerator overall
Size: 24cm x 25cm x 24cm
Material: Glass
Why we love it
- Stylish and effective
- A dinner table talking point
Brayden Studio’s final touch conundrum aerator and revolve decanter really is the business. It’s a set that combines a gently revolving wide-body decanter with a glass aerator bowl that instantly aerates the wine as you pour it. And the way it does it is likely to stop any dinner table banter before it starts. All eyes will be fixed on this.
First (phase one), the stainless-steel filter removes any sediment, then (phase two), the wine escapes from holes in the aerator bowl into the glass globe below, before (phase three) the wine continues its journey into the decanter. Lastly, remove the aerator (phase gour) and gently swirl the wine for a final aerating flourish. The red wine I tasted was certainly improved with more flavour, body and aroma than before.
Buy now £75, Johnlewis.com
Uberstar wine aerator
Best: budget wine aerator
Size: 5.5cm x 15cm x 5.5cm
Material: Plastic and aluminium
Why we love it
- Robust and stylish
- For use with glasses or decanters
Take note
- Includes tabletop stand
Similar in design and function to the Vinturi aerator, Uberstar’s wine aerator channels the red wine into a central chamber where the air – and that much-needed oxygen – is drawn in. The result, they claim, is “better tasting wine in seconds”.
The only drawback, as with the Venturi, is that it works best if you hold the aerator with one hand and the bottle with the other, ensuring you are directly above the glass or decanter you intend to fill. Otherwise, there could be some nasty stains on the tablecloth. But it does the job, the bouquet is certainly improved, and it is very reasonably priced.
Buy now £17, Uberstar.com
Vinturi red wine aerator
Best: tabletop aerator
Size: Not specified
Material: Glass and acrylic
Why we love it
- Easy to use
- Fast working
Take note
- Needs a steady hand
An established name in the wine world and a classic piece of kit. The Vinturi aerator is simple to use. Simply hold it above the wine glass or the decanter and gently pour the red wine through the wire mesh filter into it. As you do so, air is channelled into the aerator, and the wine mixes with the air and falls gently into the glass.
The aeration that they claim would take three hours in an ordinary decanter is completed in seconds, with an improved bouquet, enhanced flavour and a smoother finish. Just remember to keep your hand steady.
Buy now £48, Dexam.co.uk
CellarDine rouge 02 electronic wine breather
Best: electronic aerator
Size: 10.16cm x 10.16cm x 15.24cm
Material: Acrylic
Why we love it
- Simple to use
- For a bottle or a glass
Take note
- Needs two AAA batteries
CellarDine’s rouge 02 electronic wine breather is the best electronic aerator I tested. Once assembled (follow the helpful photo instructions on the packaging) and you have a handheld aerator that you simply place in the neck of the bottle. Press the button, and it will send gently bubbling air through the wine for 45 seconds.
For the same effect on a single glass of wine, insert the stem and use the on/off button. The wine certainly tasted fresher, and the aroma and bouquet of the wine were enhanced.
Buy now £16.5, Dexam.co.uk
ETO 750 stainless steel wine decanter
Best: wine aerator for aerating and preserving wine
Size: 35cm x 9.9cm
Material: Stainless steel
Why we love it
- Superbly stylish design
- Patented preservation system
Take note
- Accommodates a full bottle of wine
It was UK designer and wine buff Tom Cotton who came up with this beauty, the ETO 750 stainless steel wine decanter.
The immensely stylish decanter aerates a full bottle of wine as it's poured in and then preserves it with a valve that seals the wine against the oxygen in the air. In doing so, it provides the best of both worlds – an aerated wine that’s not in danger of becoming vinegar-like through an excess of oxygen. Beautiful and elegant enough to grace any dinner table, it’s a costly buy but one worth investing in.
Buy now £139, Etowine.com
Pulltex inox aerating funnel
Best: wine aerating funnel
Size: 19cm x 6cm x 6cm
Material: Stainless steel
Why we love it
- Elegant design
- Easily operated
Take note
- For use in decanters
Pulltex’s inox aerating funnel is another piece of kit that looks as if it’s something that Q would be offering to 007 in a James Bond movie. In fact, it’s not that difficult to use.
The funnel is inserted into the decanter. The wine is poured in and then escapes from the disc below onto the walls of the decanter, making sure that the wine is evenly and fully aerated. It’s a solid item made from stainless steel and has a two-year warranty. The red wine I used tasted smoother with an enhanced bouquet.
Buy now £47.99, Wineandbarrels.co.uk
CellarDine rouge 02 by the glass wine breather
Best: wine aerator for a speedy result
Size: 6.35cm x 3.18cm x 18.42cm
Material: Plastic
Why we love it
- Straightforward and simple
- Works instantly
Take note
- Drip free
Like the Vin Bouquet aerator, the CellarDine rouge 02 is another that you simply push into the neck of the bottle of red wine and then pour. I found it the best for speedy results. Easy to fit and straightforward to use, the aerator drops bubbles of air into the wine as it is poured.
It also provides drip-free servings, and once fitted, there’s no need to remove it from the bottle. The result is a red wine that tastes better, with a stronger bouquet and aroma.
Buy now £11.25, Dexam.co.uk
Final Touch conundrum wine aerator
Best: stylish wine aerator
Size: 8cm x 8cm
Material: Glass
Why we love it
- Lovely to look at
- Two-stage aeration process
Take note
- Stays in the bottle
Final Touch’s conundrum wine aerator is easily the most stylish. You might mistake it for an elaborate glass vase. It consists of two glass bowls joined together with a spout at one end and a rubber stopper at the other.
The theory is that the wine travels into the first chamber, where it’s gently aerated before entering the second chamber, where the curves go to work and aerate the wine even more. Once you’ve enjoyed watching the wine make its elaborate journey, you’re left with a fully aerated glass. I have to say that it does work, and the bouquet and taste of the red wine were noticeably improved.
Buy now £15, Johnlewis.com
Pulltex AirVin wine aerator and pourer
Best: wine aerator for all types of bottles
Size: Unspecified
Material: Methacrylate and silicone
Why we love it
- Reasonably priced
- Simple to fit
Take note
- Fits most bottles (screw cap or cork)
Another push-into-the-bottle-and-pour aerator that does the job by creating a constant flow of bubbles as the wine is poured into the glass. Like the others, it’s uncomplicated and very simple to use. As it’s transparent, you can watch as the wine becomes aerated.
The aerator also fits the neck of nearly all bottles of wine, whether they are cork or screw cap. The wine tasted better with a perceptible improvement in the bouquet.
Buy now £10.95, Wineware.co.uk
Final Touch twister glass aerator and decanter set
Best: three-stage wine aerator
Size: H:26.8cm x W:27cm x D:24cm
Material: Glass
Why we love it
- Great addition to a dinner party table
- Solid performance
Those of you with long memories may recall a song called “Windmills of Your Mind”, which talked about going “round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel”, which precisely describes what happens to red wine in this twisted glass aerator and decanter set. It works in a similar way to the Conundrum aerator with a three-stage process.
Firstly, the wine is filtered by the wire mesh, aerated in the glass globe and finally dispersed in the seemingly never-ending glass spiral. Apart from providing a wonderful table-top show, it also solidly improves the bouquet and flavour of the red wine that’s poured through it.
Buy now £59.67, Amazon.co.uk
Your questions about wine aerators answered
What is the best wine aerator?
The good news is that there are aerators to suit every price, from the more budget bottle-pourer aerators to the table-top models and the more expensive decanter and aerator sets. The best wine aerator I tested, though, was Final Touch’s conundrum aerator and revolve decanter set. Not only does it do the job perfectly, giving you a wine that’s fully oxygenated and superior in taste, but it also provides a dinner party talking point.
How I tested wine aerators
As someone passionate about wine, I’m always looking for ways to make a more affordable bottle of medium and full-bodied red taste better. To make sure the test was fair, I bought multiple bottles of the same supermarket wine and put each wine aerator to the test. When testing, I considered the following:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
John Clarke is a journalist with a passion for wine. Since first contributing to The Independent in 2015, he’s written about everything from the best ports to the best white wines, so he’s well-positioned to bring you the wine aerators that get the best out of a wine. These are his honest opinions based on taste tests.
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