Serious Grape: Decanting Demystified
On Fridays, Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 drops by with Serious Grape.
[Photograph: Deb Harkness]
The idea of decanting a wine—pouring the contents of a bottle into another vessel—may strike you as fussy and pretentious act, conjuring up images of white-gloved butlers and wine snobs. People have been decanting wine since at least Roman times because until recently, wine was not filtered and clarified as part of the wine-making process.
Even with modern wine-making, there are two excellent reasons to decant wine: it removes the sediment in older wine and it aerates younger wines, which can make a difference in how they taste.
In the case of older wine, sediments can form as part of the aging process. These sediments cloud the wine and if you get a chunk in your mouth, they can be unpleasantly bitter and drying.
Decanting an older bottle of wine slowly into another vessel enables you to keep the sediments (and a little bit of the wine) in the bottle. It takes some practice so I always use a fine mesh filter to catch the solids. With old wines experts recommend decanting immediately before serving—too much exposure to air can deaden flavors and aromas.
In the case of younger wine—particularly tannic reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Italian Barolos—some people feel that decanting increases the aeration of a wine and leads to a smoother, more developed taste in the mouth. This has been scientifically challenged, but as in all matters of taste the important thing to follow is your own taste buds and decide what you prefer.
For me, I find that big, bold red that cause mouth puckering and seem raspy at first do smooth out after they've "breathed" in a decanter for 10 to 20 minutes. You get the same effect by vigorously swirling your wine glass before taking a sip.
When I tasted the 2007 Clos LaChance Meritage "Crimson Topaz" ($18; find this wine) I could tell from the oak and strong tannins that it might improve after being poured into a decanter. Sure enough, the aromas of smoke and cherry that I initially detected picked up some more minty, herbal notes. And in the flavor department, the wine went from oak and cherry to smooth layers of strawberry, cherry, raspberry, and herbs.
If you're reluctant to decant because it reminds you of that dusty, broad-bottomed decanter that sat on your parents' sideboard year in and year out, know that there are stylish options in the market. This Spiegelau Siena decanter (suggested retail $99, but you can find deals online for $70 to 85) looks more like a piece of sculpture than a decanter. I wouldn't mind having it on my dining room table whether or not it was in use. And unlike many older decanters, new decanters (such as this one) are often dishwasher-safe.
Of course any vessel will do. Using glass—such as an old mayonnaise jar, your Sangria pitcher, a water jug—is often preferable with older wines if you are trying to avoid sediment. Give decanting a try with your next bottle of red and see what you think. Does decanting make a difference to your tastebuds?
Full disclosure: Spiegelau loaned me a decanter for this experiment, and I received the Clos LaChance Meritage as a sample.
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3 Comments:
Great article! I bought my husband a decanter a few years ago and when he saw it he just couldn't figure out why I'd bought him a flower vase...but now we use it often....
Maggie Hoffman at 11:51AM on 10/02/09
I know when I dont have time for decanting, I use the Venturi which instantly decants a bottle of wine right from the bottle into your glass... its works amazingly well.. but you have to know how to use it properly also.
You need to know how far a bottle tastes from being ready, if its only a hour away from losing the tannic and alcohol taste, dont use it... if you can tell its really tannic and it needs to burn that alcohol off of it.. then do it, but just do a little bit at a time, see how it comes out.
Its great for taking to a restaurant since the idiots who buy whole bottles of wine at a restaurant just open and serve it without breathing at all. Why spend $50 to 100 on a bottle of wine when its going to taste like crap?
Take the venturi with you and you can be ready to serve, plus my whole problem with wine beyond that is that its not served at cellar temperature either. Its usually way too warm for a red to be served. I know there are people who dont like to slightly chill a bottle down, but that very slight chill makes a world of difference. If you dont think so, then you need to keep drinking that swill called Charles "two buck upchuck" Shaw wine you buy in gross at the local Trader Joes.. which is nothing but box wine in a bottle... sorry but I truly have a bad taste for that schluck called wine and the people who are borderline alcoholics who buy and drink this on a regular basis.
plazmaorb at 1:02PM on 10/02/09
i swear by decanting now, but up until i tried it last year, i thought it was indeed just a fussy, wine-snobby thing. but it really makes a huge difference on the, ahem, cheap wines we drink on a day-to-day basis.
franko at 3:06PM on 10/02/09