Have you ever noticed how most wines taste better after you’ve had a glass or two? This isn’t because you’re feeling the effects of the alcohol; it’s because the wine in the bottle has been exposed to air, or as wine experts say, it’s had time to breathe. You can get this affect with the very first glass if you pour wine into a different receptacle before you serve it. This is called decanting.
These days, it isn’t necessary to decant most wines you buy in stores because today’s technology in winemaking ensures that the wine you buy is already filtered and will have very little sediment in it. Ever noticed that indentation on the bottom of a wine bottle? That’s called the punt, and it’s put there so any sediment that may have gotten into the wine will settle around this indentation. There are a couple of reasons, though, why you should decant wine. First, when a wine has aged in its bottle for ten years or more, its sediment looks and tastes unpleasant. Decanting will remove this. Second, wines that are younger than ten years may only have a bit of sediment, but their taste will benefit from being exposed to the air for a short while before serving. This is especially true for inexpensive wines, as decanting will improve that sharp bite such wines tend to have.
There are two ways to decant wine. The following procedure is to be used if you are decanting wine to remove sediment. If the wine has been lying on its side, as wine should be stored, you will want to stand the bottle upright for a day or two, so the sediment can sink to the bottom of the bottle. When you are ready to decant, you will need a knife, a corkscrew, a container (carafe) large enough to hold twice the amount of wine in the bottle, and a candle. The first time you decant a wine, it may seem strange that your carafe is only half full, but the idea is to expose the wine to as much air as possible. First, use the knife to remove the foil from the bottle and the corkscrew to remove the cork. Next, set up the candle so you can see clearly through the neck of the bottle when you pour. Then, pour the wine into the carafe very slowly and carefully so the sediment remains in the bottom of the bottle. Stop pouring when sediment starts coming into the neck of the bottle. You will have an ounce or two of wine left in the bottle. Either throw that away or use it in cooking. If the wine has just a few little bits of very fine sediment, that’s ok. It’s difficult to get a completely crystal clear decantation. You primary goal is to keep out the big chunks. Now let the wine sit for anywhere from 3-5 hours, then serve.
But what if you have a bottle that isn’t clear, say, a port wine, for example? There is another way to decant when you can’t see the sediment in the bottle. Let the bottle stand upright for a couple of days to ensure the sediment is at the bottle. When you are ready to decant, remove the foil and cork. Then take a glass funnel (not plastic) and put a coffee filter in it. Carefully pour the wine into the carafe through the funnel, and the filter will catch the sediment.
Now let’s say you just bought an inexpensive bottle of wine today at the grocery store and you want to drink it tonight. It doesn’t have any sediment because it’s a new bottle, but you can improve the taste, especially if it’s a red wine, by letting it air out a little. This type of decanting is much easier. You simply remove the foil and cork, pour the wine into a carafe, and let it sit for a few hours. You will probably discover that it tastes much better, fuller and less sharp.
