Decanting and Glasses

Decanting

Decanting serves a number of purposes, enabling wine to be poured off any sediment in the bottle and it aerates the wine, it also allows for the colour to be fully appreciated.

Some people regard decanting wine as an affectation — try for yourself. Take two bottles of the same wine, decant one for the length of recommended time; draw the cork on the other, taste and then decide.

If you choose to decant your wine stand the bottle for at least 24 hours close to the decanter so they are both the same temperature.

The decanter must be absolutely clean, open the wine, pour a tiny amount of wine into the decanter, swirl it around, smell it to check it is not corked, discard it.

Very gently tip the wine bottle and pour into the decanter, do not tilt the bottle back (any sediment will be disturbed), stop pouring when you see the sediment appear.

Great care is needed when decanting wine with a sediment or deposit.  Wines that 'throw' a sediment include vinatage and crusted port, older vintages of reds -  Bordeaux, Rhone, Barolo, in fact many of the full bodied reds.  Try having a source of light (candle) behind the bottle it will help you see the sediment.  Do not leave wine in a decanter for any length of time as exposure to oxygen will ruin it.

The reason for swilling a small amount of wine into the decanter and then discarding it is so that the wine you then pour into the decanter only touches the minute amount of wine film coating the inside.

You can strain the wine dregs from the bottle and any in the decanter for use in cooking.

Opening Champagne or Sparkling Wine

Hold the bottle at an angle of 55 degrees, pointing the neck away from other people or breakables.  Carefully remove the foil and wire muzzle.  Holding the bottle in one hand and the cork in the other gently twist the bottle (not the cork) until it pops gently out.  Remember - it is considered vulgar to 'explode' champagne and an awful waste!