Decanting Wine

Aerating the wine will get rid of any sulfur dioxide and allow the wine to taste smoother.
Decanting Wine
Many red wines, even inexpensive ones, can be improved with decanting. triocean/Shutterstock
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All wines are “alive”—at least in the sense that they start out when they’re young tasting fresh and vibrant, and as they mature, they either improve or decline based on what the winemaking process was all about.

All wines differ. Some are intended to be consumed as soon as possible. To do otherwise risks losing youthful charms. In the case of classic red wines, most are best when they’re aged in a cool wine cellar for a decade, or much longer.

Since the life cycle of some wines cannot be determined until the cork is pulled or the screwcap removed, the consumer usually is left without much insight as to how to deal with wines that aren’t perfect when they are first opened.

Here is where creative people know that they can impact the situation to their advantage. Although it won’t improve a poor wine, the proper use of a decanter can expand wines with minor flaws and allow them to display more of their appropriate characteristics.

If a white wine is released too soon (a common practice in recent years), buyers can decant the wines to allow the aromas to develop and rid the wine of slight “off” odors that blunt the wines’ real charms.

Riesling and gewürztraminer and other aromatic varieties (such as pinot grigio and viognier) benefit from decanting.

One reason for decanting whites is that some of them (notably those sealed with a screwcap) usually have a dose of sulfur dioxide (SO2) added to preserve freshness. This can leave them with a hint of a matchstick aroma. Decanting aerates the wine and gets rid of most SO2. Other aromas that are not supposed to be in wine can aerate off by decanting, too.

Most people who regularly consume red wines know that decanting them is usually a good idea. For one thing, younger reds need time to recover from fermentation. Most young reds have had no time for the flavors to knit. Aeration helps that process.

Even inexpensive red wines can benefit and “come together” with aeration. This includes almost all wines you find on restaurant wine lists these days.

Also, many mature red wines get a bit “funky” after years in the bottle and can benefit from aeration. All quality restaurants should be prepared to decant any wine the diner requests. It’s one of the reasons we pay such a premium for wine in restaurants.

Also, red wines that are a bit too young to drink almost all benefit from decanting, allowing the wines to “breathe” and open up. The aroma benefits, and the wine actually seems to be a bit softer and smoother.

Simply pulling the cork on a bottle of wine does very little to allow the wine the aeration it needs to develop additional character. The amount of air that gets into the neck of the bottle is so small as to be negligible.

If you don’t have a proper decanter appropriate for wine, simply pour the wine into a water pitcher that has been cleaned and has no extraneous aromas of its own.

Wine of the Week

2018 Stellina di Notte pinot grigio, Delle Venezie ($8): Most pinot grigios from Italy that sell for less than $10 can be somewhat neutral in character, but this one is really fascinating since it is already a few years older. That might scare some people who believe that all such wines should be consumed immediately; older isn’t better. But the extra time in the bottle has given this wine a little more personality, and although it is slightly sweet, it is nicely balanced with good acidity, and it can be found for about $6 in some discount locations.
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Dan Berger
Dan Berger
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To find out more about Sonoma County resident Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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