When should you use a wine decanter?
When you think of wine decanters, what is the first thing that comes to mind. If you are really into home decorating your first thought may be “decanter = decoration”. I mean, what else would they mold such fancy glass creations for other than art, right? Well, the sophisticated wine drinker needs to understand that a decanter is a necessary instrument for properly enjoying a bottle of wine. Should you always use a decanter? What exactly do they do? This article answers those questions and more.
Let’s start with what a wine decanter is used. As wine ages there can be a level of sediment that arrises from the liquid. Properly pouring the wine into the decanter helps separate that sediment so that you won’t have little floaties in your drink. Let’s face it, when you see floaties, you think bugs. Can you imagine opening a hundred-dollar bottle of Cab you’ve been carefully aging for decades, pouring that first delicious glass, and staring at a bunch of floating sediment? Or worse yet, handing a glass of wine to your distinguished guests and seeing the disgusted looks on their faces.
Wine decanters also let your beverage “air out” before serving. It is important that the wine is exposed to oxygen to open up flavors. Of course, you don’t have to use a wine decanter for this, which leads us to our second question, “should you always use a decanter?” If you properly plan for it you simply need to open the bottle of wine. Opening the wine early can give the wine the time it needs to get oxygen. If you don’t have the space or money for a wine decanter just become a better planner. Some experienced wine drinkers actually induce extra oxygen contact as a part of drinking. You can do this by taking a sip of wine, leaving your mouth partly open, and lightly inhaling while the wine is in your mouth. Few are aware of this technique but we have witnessed Sommoliers doing it firsthand.
There are two specific times it really helps to use a decanter and both are based upon age. First, if you are drinking a really young wine you will want it to get as much exposure to oxygen as possible (within reason of course- you don’t want the wine to go bad) to open up flavors. This is because the wine flavor hasn’t been given a lot of time to properly develop in the bottle. Tip the bottle upright and allow it to splash all over the inside of the decanter. This technique increases the surface area of the wine for maximum wine-oxygen contact.
Second, if you are drinking a really old wine you should decant it. This again is to help separate the particles that will have formed in the bottle. A lot of inexperienced drinkers think that particles mean the wine is rotten, but this is frequently not the case. When decanting old wines delicately and slowly pour the wine along the inside of the decanter. Your goal is to keep the chunks in the bottle and out of your wine glass. Both young and old wines can benefit from swirling the decanter, much like a wine glass, to increase exposure to oxygen further.
In summary, decanters are fun, stylish, and useful. They can be used to increase wine flavor, remove junk from the wine, or just style up your home bar. Many artisticly styled wine decanters come in sets with complimentary styled wine glasses.
