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Santa Rosa Fine Wine

Wine Decanting

A lot has been written on wine decanting as to when and why it should be done. No question, decanting exposes wine to a lot of oxygen in a short period of time, and to many, it is beneficial for the immediate enjoyment of certain wines. Among the reasons to decant commonly sited:

Decant to separate clear wine from that containing sediment - Sediment is very common in older fine wines, especially with particular producers. No one typically enjoys the grittiness sediment adds.

Decant to aerate a young or tannic wine – Not surprising, a lot of newly released wines are closed down. What might otherwise be an enjoyable complex wine right out of the bottle is completely masked by its tightness. Decanting accelerates the time to breathe.

While both may have some merit, generally speaking, Santa Rosa Fine Wine rarely, if ever decants wines opened. Why?

Decant in the glass – Pouring a full bottle of wine into a decanter is a big shock for the wine, exposing it to a lot of air rapidly. This rapid aeration has an increased probability to rob a wine of its full potential. We prefer to drink slowly over a span of time to allow the wine to evolve and open up in the glass.

Open wines that are ready to be opened – There are numerous wines that are simply too young, tight, and incredible closed down. Some so much so, it will literally not move for days after being opened, even with decanting. To fully enjoy a wine and all its complexities, it is simply best to open when a wine is mature. Opening young wines are fine, especially when the purpose is to see how it evolves year after year.

Sediment in Wine – Any wine that has sediment should be stood up vertically days before opening the wine. This will give sediment a chance to settle at the bottom of the bottle. When pouring in a glass, do so slowly, and leave a centimeter or two at the bottom of the bottle. Decanting for the purpose to remove sediment exposes wine to air pouring both into a decanter, and then pouring into a glass.

Reduce Risk – While not common, but more than possible, you may encounter decanters, and wine glasses for that matter that are less than clean. Exposing so much wine to a decanter with soap residue or other contaminates will impart to the wine, making it a less than enjoyable experience.