#1 Decanting & Double Decanting

What if you could aerate a bottle of wine in two minutes?

Pro Tip - Decanting & Double Decanting

Decanting wine is simply the pouring wine from the original bottle into another  bottle, vessel or decanter.

There are two reasons to decant:

Decanting for Sediment

For finer, older (typically 15 years plus) bigger, red wines (white and rose wines rarely need decanting) e.g. from Bordeaux, Burgundy, California or the Rhone decanting is good idea. Decanting is used here to separate the fine sediment from the wine. With these wines complex, elegant wines a bit of sediment could detract from their full enjoyment. Decanting for sediment will be covered in a future newsletter.

Decanting For Aeration

The second, far more common reason for decanting is to aerate the wine. Exposing the wine's surface to oxygen in this way, enhances a wine's flavor, releases dormant aromas and flavours in the wine and softens the tannins. It makes the wine much softer and better tasting. Aeration makes a very noticeable difference in the flavor and therefore your enjoyment of a red wine. Wines that benefit the most from aeration are those younger and ready to drink now i.e. most reds in the Ripe Fruit Forward and Savoury Fruit styles. Most Light Fruity Reds do not need to be decanted.

You might be familiar with the typical "ship's decanter" with the very large flat bottom.