To Decant or Not to Decant?

This topic is debated heavily. Should the wine be decanted? Which wines do I decant? Before we get in to what and why, let's be clear on what a decanter and the act of decanting is. The Oxford Companion to Wine defines a decanter as a vessel, usually glass and stoppered, into which wine is poured during decanting. Decanting is the act of pouring wine out of its bottle into another container. So when do you need a decanter and why?

There are three reasons that you may want to decant a wine. The first reason we are going to explore is actually called aerating, or letting the wine breathe. Aerating is allowing oxygen to interact with your wine in order to soften tannins and enhance its flavors. You would want to do this with younger wines, red or white. Young red varietals such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot

and petit syrah will benefit from breathing. You may have seen someone simply remove the cork letting the wine sit open for a few minutes to allow the air in. While I have seen this done, it is not an effective method. The small amount of air that actually enters the bottle is not enough to have an effect unless you leave it open for an extended period of time, such as nearly a day. This being said, if you would like to have a wine effectively oxidize you should use a decanter, an aerator, or simply swirl it in your glass before enjoying. 

Tip: You should never decant red wines that are sensitive to oxygen as they will fall apart losing flavor leaving it to taste dull. Some examples of these wines include older pinot noirs, older red burgundies, older Chianti Classicos, and older gran reserva Riojas.

The second reason you would want to decant a wine is due to sediment forming in the bottle during aging. Sediment is the solid material that settles to the bottom of a bottle of wine. While this is rare in majority of the bottles you will encounter at your local store, you will see sediment in a fine wine that has spent years in the bottle. Most wines made today are bottled to drink within the first few years and do not have sediment as it was filtered out during the winemaking process. Wines that are designed for longer bottle aging, however, will develop crystals of tartrates. (Tartrates are harmless if consumed but they are not atheistically pleasing and can taste bitter.) If you encounter sediment and wish to separate it from the clear wine, there are a few small steps you can take to achieve this. 

1. The first step is to take your aging bottle and carefully, without disturbing it too much, let it sit right side up for a couple days prior to serving. This will help let all the sediment settle to the bottom of the bottle. 

2. Next is to have a vessel in which to pour your wine. The styles and materials of decanters can vary. As long as it is an inert material, pick a style that you love and one that you can easily clean! 

3. Remove the capsule, the foil on the top of the wine, completely so you can see the neck of the bottle.

4. Carefully remove the cork with the bottle still standing right side up doing yo2tur best not to disturb the sediment.

5. Using a light source behind the bottle so that you can see the sediment, slowly pour the wine into your decanter. Once the sediment reaches the neck of the bottle stop pouring. This will leave the sediment in the bottle and the clear wine in the decanter ready to enjoy!

Tip: You don't want to decant an aged wine too early as it is delicate and will start to react to the oxygen as soon as it is opened. Opposite of young wine, if you decant too early, the flavors in the aged wine will start to dull.

The third reason is simply aesthetics. A carafe can look charming on any table and is a personal choice when hosting. (I  don't use one unless necessary and prefer to have the bottle tableside.)

So is decanting necessary? Sometimes, but rarely. For your everyday bottle you simply need a corkscrew and a glass.