Wine Decantation

Wine decantation is the process of carefully pouring wine from the bottle into a special glass vessel, a decanter (carafe), before serving. This ritual pursues two aims at once, depending on the type of wine.

The first aim is the aeration of young wines. The wide bottom of the decanter provides a large contact of the wine with air, thanks to which a young, “closed” red wine reveals its aroma faster, and its firm tannins soften, making the flavour more harmonious. The second, classic aim is separation from sediment. Old, long-aged red wines form a natural sediment over the years (crystals, residues of tannins and pigments). So that it does not get into the glass and spoil the flavour and look of the drink, the wine is slowly and carefully poured into the decanter, leaving the cloudy part at the bottom of the bottle; for control the shoulder of the bottle is usually lit with a candle or torch. Decantation is carried out just before serving. It is important to understand the nuance: young wines benefit from it, while some very old and fragile ones can, on the contrary, quickly “fade” in the air. It is an elegant component of the culture of wine service.