On decanting wine

Lost in translation: This article was originally written in German. The translation is likely to be stilted.

Everybody has questions about decanting wine: When or why should I decant wine? Does the shape of the decanter make a difference? How long should I decant the wine? What should a decanter be made of? What is the difference between a decanter and a carafe? Questions upon questions. Let's start with the last one.

What is the difference between a carafe and a decanter?

The terms decanting and carafing are often used interchangeably. What purpose does the carafe serve? Phew. In some wine bars, taverns and wine taverns, the wine is served in a carafe with a fill line, perhaps to comply with a weights and measures law or to avoid having an unsightly fill line on the wine glass. Perhaps the carafe is filled from a bag-in-box or from a beverage dispensing system. If there is a wine tank in the next room, you can either serve the wine in the carafe at the table or serve your guest with a hose and nozzle.  Either way don't forget to express your intention to serve it by cheerfully exclaiming "your wine, sir!" or “RED WINE!”. We had a small wine bar with a very thirsty guest. He drank our house wine, a white wine from Merano. We poured it from a two litre bottle into the litre carafe and within a very short time it became popular. “Bring me a litre of Meraner!” they would say. Conclusion: The carafe conveys a measure of civility.

There is one small but subtle difference: a decanter can be easily recognized by its bulbous, often expansive shape. Decanters are elegant vessels that look particularly great at festive tables. A carafe on the otherhand is generally slender with a fill line and a pouring lip.

When a young wine is carafed because it needs air, it usually ends up in the bulbous decanter. Because this is where the most air gets to the wine. But if you want to separate an old wine from its lees, you would be advised to carafe it. Less air gets to it here, so it doesn't “fall apart”.

Why decant wine?

As just described, for some people the purpose of decanting is to separate the sediment from the wine. Especially with older wines, deposits tend to form - the so-called deposit - which is perceived as annoying when drinking. But beware. The attempt - come what may - to separate the wine from its deposit can result in that deposit being freed from the bottom of the bottle and put into circulation. Some deposits are bitter or sandy in the mouth (tartar). We therefore advise against forced decantation of old vintages. It's better to handle it gently. Get the bottles out of the cellar and let the wine stand for 24 hours - where it will be drunk later. Leave two fingers of wine in the bottle. Please, dear wine lovers, do not confuse decanting wine with decanting port wine . This is a special message to everyone who would like to bring all their devices into play with filters and muslin, retorts and candles. Desist. Lay off. Whoa. Stop.

What does decanting do to a wine?

Decanting adds oxygen to the wine, thus aerating the wine. This can (but does not have to) cause the wine to “ open up ”. For example, certain natural wines can be very closed when you open the bottle. In theory, you could try decanting to force the wine to open . What does that say about you as a person? You use violence against wine! Really? The rare case of decanting occurs when you're dealing with really complex red wines .

Some wines actually benefit from decanting.

I have experienced wines that tasted better with a decanter: the wines of Angelo Gaja, many super Tuscans, some great Californian wines or Barolo. But you have to ask yourself whether the wine would have developed in the glass. When I come across a "closed" wine , I usually put the cork back in the bottle and taste it a day later. This is especially true for natural wines , which seem to have their own "weather". But if you have a five-year-old Bordeaux that is probably only ready to drink after 15 years, no amount of decanting will help you. You can't rush Mother Nature.

Can you also decant incorrectly?

The simple answer is: yes. You can decant a wine and completely miss the moment it opens. This will destroy the enjoyment of the wine. I did this to a magnum bottle of Grands-Échezeaux from Remoissenet. I decanted the red wine and you could see it turning brown and dying in the decanter. When we all had it in our glasses, the show was over. The worst bombshell in my career as a sommelier. After that, I literally moved out of town.

Decanting and the show around it

I think the issue of decanting actually becomes thorny when the situation in which you are opening a wine is some kind of presentation. If you're presenting a wine and trying to show the wine at its best, then I really hope you're a sommelier or a nerd. Because you are putting yourself under a lot of pressure to perform. Wine is about relaxation, isn't it? Sommeliers have a license to decant. They know whether a wine benefits from decanting because they have opened dozens of the same wine and learned in the process which wines need air. If you have a single bottle of really good wine and you open it and realize, "Hey, that's pretty closed," then you should definitely decant it, at your own risk.

Do wine lovers need a decanter?

First, a confession: I don't own a decanter. Thirty-six years in the wine business and no decanter . I don't collect wine either, but that's another story. The question may be which wines need to be decanted. Because most wines don't need that. You would have to have a very specific wine problem before you reach for the decanter. But my experience: If something is wrong, decanting rarely brings about an improvement. Decanting a wine with a cork taint has never removed the cork.

Decanting wine is fun

I use a clay jug. This means you can't see the wine and miss half the fun. Because decanting wine is fun, or at least it should be. A beautiful crystal decanter allows you to play with the wine if that's your thing. Beautiful glasses also allow you to play with the wine. The interface between wine and glass is, if you will, visual. You can see the color gradations, the heart of a wine and the age of a wine. But: sniffing a decanter would be a faux pas and probably unhygienic, which is why I've come to the conclusion that large glasses make the best decanters, at least for me. Every clown has his own nose, as they say in the Rhineland.

Which decanter is the right one?

There are many – and I mean many – wine aerators , bubblers, spirals and cascades. And you'll find people who swear that these devices will make any wine perfect, or even make a $10 wine taste like a $90 wine. But these are just hamster wheels for wine. Have fun, you hamsters!

If you are a fan of design , then you could get a decanter from Iitalla, designed by Alfredo Häberli. You could even go further and find an artisan glassblower from whom you can commission a unique carafe for you. Advanced! Or you could make the effort to drive all the way to Murano in the Venetian Lagoon. The most beautiful decanters are made there. As you can see, or as I hope to show, decanting wine is a flight of fancy - to each his own.

Wines that we also decant: