Decanting to Add Enjoyment
There are two very good reasons to decant wine. The first relates to aged wines, and the second is about aeration.
Let’s start with aged wines. Wines with some years “under their belt” age and evolve. Part of that evolution may be the formation or evidence of sediment in the wine. This is not desirable to taste or drink – therefore decanting is the best approach. Decanting the wine will allow the sediment to sink to the bottom, and the pleasure of the wine will be at its fullest.
The second reason is actually about aeration. Just recently, I was in a class and heard some interesting facts. One – that 90% of all wines purchased are consumed within the first year. Two – the next 9% are consumed within 5 years. That is not a lot of aging time for a wine. Many wines require some time in bottle to truly show their best “stuff.” So if only 10% of wine is truly laid down to age gracefully for at least some time, then what is a person to do? That is where a decanter can be a really good friend. It will allow your wine to “open up” and provide greater accessibility to the aromas and flavors. Aeration will enhance your wine experience and make it more accessible for your enjoyment.
Many times you have been in restaurants and brought or bought a bottle of wine. Good servers will ask if you would like them to open the bottle and let it breathe. Yes, this is a good idea, yet it really does not accomplish all that much. Consider a principle called surface area. Opening the bottle is okay – there just isn’t that much wine exposed to the air (oxygen) to make that big of a difference. Have them decant the wine for you (which provides more surface area for aeration) and wait a bit. You will be rewarded with a richer tasting wine and greater drinking experience.
The other avenue is to buy wine that is ready to drink. There are wines that are wonderful from the bottle, yet how do you know? Again, aerating that wine will help with your enjoyment. There are many gadgets to help that by the glass. The Vinturi is a simple aerator that is available in any wine store. The cost is less then $20. This hastens the process and does it glass by glass. It is economical and convenient to enhance your wine experience. As you can tell, that is my mission.
Enjoy!