When Should You Decant Wine?
By Ian • Mar 5th, 2008 • Category: Wine Education
Decanting wine is not common place these days. In fact who owns a decanter?
In days gone by, before the advent of modern wine making and refining techniques, wines were often decanted. Wine was carefully poured into the decanter ensuring any remaining solids that had settled in the bottle stayed in the bottle.
However if we have have splashed out on a fine bottle of aged red it may well contain some sediment that has formed as part of the aging process. This sediment can be unpleasant to taste and doesn’t look too good either. Allowing the wine to stand for a day before opening will let the sediment to settle to the bottom. Carefully decanting it will then leave the sediment in
the bottle.
Take care not to let the wine glug out of the bottle. Pour slowly and carefully. Stop pouring when a little wine and sediment is left in the bottle. Completely removing the capsule helps you see when the sediment gets to the neck of the bottle.
Allowing some younger red wines to breath will soften them and allow the aromas to develop. Just opening the wine and allowing it to breathe in the bottle will do. However pouring it into a decanter will help to aerate the wine. Also the shape of the decanter usually allows a greater area of wine to be in contact with the air, speeding up the process.
Filed Under: Wine Education
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