Improving Wine by Decanting

Decanting equipment (photo by Tod)

We had a disappointing run of wines at a recent party. There were a few bottles that were drinkable but not enjoyable. Too young. Too harsh.

One of the revelers taught us about decanting wine. I thought decanting was a process reserved for old wines full of sediment, but the aeration makes a huge difference in the flavor of the wine.

So how do you do it? It’s easy and you don’t even need a special decanter.

1. Pour the wine from the bottle into a glass pitcher or wide-mouthed jar. Do it from a bit of a height so that the wine splashes into the pitcher.
2. Allow to sit a few minutes, then swish the wine around in the pitcher. This exposes maximum surface area of the wine to the air.
3. Pour the wine back into the bottle. A funnel is handy for this step, particularly if you’ve been testing previously aerated wines.
4. Taste and repeat as desired.

Some sources suggest decanting wines hours in advance. I don’t have the patience for that. The pour and swirl method works well enough for me; mediocre wines become quite decent. Even wine in screw-top bottles can be rescued with this technique.

Posted by kuri at December 12, 2004 08:22 PM