DECANTING: Getting the best out of a bottle of wine.
Decanting is simply transferring the wine from the bottle to another container. Little understood and practiced by few, decanting, when done in a restaurant demonstrates to the patron a serious dedication to optimum wine service. When a wine is decanted it invariably attracts the attention of other patrons at neighboring tables. For the restaurateur, this could eventually mean an increase in wine sales.
At home it affords a great way for friends and family to increase their enjoyment of a wine after it has been decanted.
WINE AND AIR
Many wine drinkers notice, it is only when the bottle is nearly finished that the wine seems to come into its own. It is simple. It takes time for a wine to react to contact with air. The swirling of wine in a glass hastens this action. For this reason wine glasses should only be half-filled. It is also why larger wine glasses are preferred.
Having been cooped up in a bottle for any number of years, a wine, especially an older wine, needs an opportunity to open up, to bloom, before it can reveal its fullest flavor and bouquet. Decanting is an accelerated form of letting a wine "breathe".
YOUNG WINES AND DECANTING
Strangely enough, young wines benefit greatly from decanting. The oxygen they contain has actually had little time to take effect. The air in the decanter achieves change rapidly. It means you get more of what you paid for and lets you enjoy literally twice as much bouquet and aroma from the wine.
Pouring is slow, continuous and steady. Decanting is not a difficult procedure.
Enjoy one of the most impressive phases of wine serving. Decant! To your health.
