Decanting Wines
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In simple terms, decanting is pouring wine into a container before serving it. However, there’s more to it than just pouring the wine into a decanter just because it looks beautiful. Wine decanters may improve the flavor characteristics and bouquets of older full-bodied red wines.
Decanting is usually for older full-bodied red wines or ports. Young full-bodied red wines can also benefit from the aeration that decanting provides.
When the wine comes in contact with oxygen, the bouquets present in the wine are released which enhances the flavors and aromas in the wine.
Of course, a wine decanter can also be used simply for aesthetic reasons. The presentation of wine in a beautiful crystal decanter adds to the ambiance of a beautifully set table and prepared dinner. There are different shapes and sizes of wine decanters.
The decanter should be a wide bottomed decanter. Wide body decanters provide more surface area for oxygen to allow aromas from the wine to be released.
Decanting is all about removing sediment from a wine, and allowing the wine to breathe. Wines have all sorts of organic things in them such as yeast, grape skins, etc. The wine naturally has very small particles of these things that, over the years that wine ages, settle out of the wine. Therefore, mostly older red wines or ports are decanted as they have much more grape skin contact because of which there’s more sediment. Such wines contain sediments that can add bitterness to the wine and the sediments can ruin the look of the wine when poured into a glass.
Before decanting a wine that contains sediment, allow the bottle to rest upright allowing any sediment to sink to the bottom. Then slowly pour the wine into the decanter keeping the bottle angled so that no sediment makes its way into the decanter. The wine may be poured through cheesecloth to assist in filtering out any unwanted particles. The trick is to pour the wine slowly into the decanter, keeping the same side down that was down during the aging process. Be sure not to let the sediment end up in the decanting glass. Sometimes in case of a bottle that’s full of sediment, such as an old port, the wine is poured into a decanter over a candle. The reason being that, it is easier to see the sediment in the bottle neck, against the bright flame of the candle, as the wine begins to slide towards the decanter opening.
Once you’ve poured all the wine, less sediment, into the decanter, you can let it sit. Well, now you’ll ask, Why would you let it sit there, exposed to air, when wine + air = bad combination? Well, here’s the fact. Yes, you do not want air getting into the wine during the years wine is aging. However, once the wine is ready to be enjoyed and that you’re about to drink it, air getting across a good surface area of a wine can actually bring out its bouquets.
You can usually let the wine sit in the decanter for 1/2 to 1 hour before you drink it. You’ll see how its flavor changes over the evening as you drink it. You’ll really enjoy it!
Of course, there’s a point at which too long of a contact with air can actually do more damage to the wine than good. If the wine is left out for too long, it warms to the your surrounding ambient room temperature. Which is what they say right? Drink red wine at room temperature? They’re right. However, when the French talked of Room Temperature in the 1800s, they meant the temperature in the 50s, i.e., at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit! However, today, in the modern times, the room temperature in our rooms is usually 70 degrees Fahrenheit or more, which is awful for the wine! Plus, mix wine and air for a long time, what do you get? Vinegar! Thus, letting your wine sit our for a long 8 hours will cause the vinegar flavors to overpower the delicate bouquets of your wine. So, you can always seal up the leftover wine and put it into your fridge and enjoy it some other time.
Enjoy responsibly!