Decanting wine, yay or nay?

Ahleckz

Ahleckz

Ahleckz

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Is it worth decanting (aerating) wine or is it a bit of a myth?

I'm of the view that it's a worthwhile thing to do but I was recently speaking to someone quite knowledgeable about wine and they said it makes no difference.

Your thoughts?
 
Letting it breathe definitely makes a difference (for red at least, not sure about white), but it's not worth the hassle of decanting into a different container for me. Just open the bottle 20-60' before you'll drink it.
 
manveruppd said:
Letting it breathe definitely makes a difference (for red at least, not sure about white), but it's not worth the hassle of decanting into a different container for me. Just open the bottle 20-60' before you'll drink it.
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Now that's the bit that I don't actually believe. I can accept that decanting it could improve the flavour (though I'm not 100%) but I can't see there being any noticeable effect from just opening the bottle. The surface area is too small to allow any significant air into the wine. Plus, it's not being irritated and therefore the air isn't mixing with much of the wine at all - only the small amount that is at the top. I'm not sure how osmosis would come into play though...
 
I can honestly say I've noticed a difference, and so has anyone I've ever shared a bottle with, but it's not as if we tested under controlled conditions. :p Usually we just pour ourselves a glass after we've left it to breathe for 20', have a few sips, and go "Hmm... a little bitter and metallic, don't you think?" Then after another 20-30' when we've finished that glass we pour out the rest of the bottle and go "Ooh much better, don't you think?" :D So the difference might be due simply because our taste buds have already adjusted to the taste of that particular wine and by the second glass we're able to see more subtleties in the flavour. Or it could be that pouring out that first glass helped aereate the wine in the rest of the bottle. Or it could be simply that if you leave it long enough it will breathe even in a bottle. I don't honestly know! :)
 
There is a definite difference, especially with red wine, after it has been allowed to breathe.

Do not think that the surface area in the neck of a bottle is not very big as it is also to do with the pressure change once the cork has been pulled. The wine 'draws' air in.

I would not dream of drinking a fine wine without letting decanting it or at least letting it breathe.

Try it next time. Open a bottle of red then have a sip. Try and remember it. Then try it 15 minutes later.

I often get wine that is less than great in restaurants (due to me being poor) and I always pour it into a glass and leave it, even just for 5 minutes. It mellows it no end.
 
What TheBrooder said. I've only ever had one bottle of wine that had sediment in it and I can't even remember now where it came from. 99.99% of the time there's no need with supermarket wines because they're so heavily filtered there's nothing left to settle in them.
 
Absolutely no need for your average cheap plonk or white.

Main reason I decant is to separate sediment from the older red wines or port (using the candle method!) and simply because it looks nice to serve from. If you are drinking a decent wine (I'm talking top Bordeaux/Italian reds or similar) then it will benefit from a bit of breathing. Simply opening a bottle and leaving it open will have no effect, as the surface area in the neck is so tiny.

If I can't be bothered to decant, I use one of these, which does a very good job at aerating and filtering.
 
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