Decanting, ventilating, oxygenating
Must wine be decanted?
This topic usually opens endless debates, but it does not arise for very old wines, because too sensitive for decanting, and young white wines. Conversely, it is recommended for robust red wines.
When decanting a wine in the carafe or decanter, it should be ventilated, because the olfactory clarity still lacks and to trigger an oxygen enrichment that is important for the tasting. This operation is also useful for freeing wine from its sediments, which must remain on the bottom of the bottle.
Therefore, especially wines with sediment, such as red wines of a certain age, for example, Barolo or Brunello, will be decanted. Also complex white wines, such as those stored in oak barrels, and some special young Sauternes wines should also be decanted.
Would you like some advice to “decant” your wine optimally? Take a carafe (or decanter) and rinse it in warm water, slightly wetted with wine, i.e. wet with a small amount of the same wine to be decanted.
Tradition has it that decanting should take place in front of a lit candle (but also a flashlight or a light bulb) positioned near the neck of the bottle. In this way you can monitor possible deposits and interrupt the operation so that no sediments pass into the carafe.
But how long should the wine rest after decanting? And here opens another very complex topic!
Obviously the decanting times depend on grape variety and date of filling. On the label of the bottle you will find indications when it’s best to uncork the wine before consumption. Each wine needs its own specific decanting time, in order to be able to oxygenate properly.
But if we have no carafe or decanter? No problem! In that case, you can open the bottle before the wine will be consumed. The surface of the bottle, which comes in contact with air, is significantly narrower and smaller than that of a decanter and therefore more time is needed for the oxygenation of the wine.
Finally, if you have to decant your wine, first make sure you store it best.
That’s why choose Datron’s wine coolers!
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