Is decanting wine an underrated practise, then?
Discussion
Dunno about the vid, but some red wines definitely improve from being decanted. To be fair, mostly the more expensive end so don't bother with the £5 Tescos Special Offer variety.
Have you ever opened a bottle, drunk some, corked it then come back to it the next day and found it generally brighter, more open, smoother tannins? Decanting does the same thing without having to wait a day. It opens up the wine to more oxygen both through the pouring, and the vastly greater surface area in a decanter.
Have you ever opened a bottle, drunk some, corked it then come back to it the next day and found it generally brighter, more open, smoother tannins? Decanting does the same thing without having to wait a day. It opens up the wine to more oxygen both through the pouring, and the vastly greater surface area in a decanter.
Whoozit said:
Dunno about the vid.... mostly the more expensive end so don't bother with the £5 Tescos Special Offer variety.
The chap in the vid reckoned every bottle of red should always be decanted, and in a round about way, seemed to say that you'd have to be an absolute nutter not to decant each and every time. And also said that decanting should apply to every bottle, including the cheap supermarket ones.Wine ponces sloosh the glass around to get more smelly molecules into the glass. All the better to sniff with.
Oxygen will never "release flavour" in any kind of chemical reaction. Oxygen will only oxidise wine, which is not a good thing unless you want sherry. Contact with air will of course allow the flavour to be released. But surely that cannot be a good thing ? Don't we want ALL the flavour ?
Getting rid of some the intial smelly molecules from a well aged wine might be a good thing for some grapes, perhaps a heavy Barolo which might have a bit of a whiff early on , but decanting anything too delicate may not be a good thing. Or you might take the edge of something a bit rough and ready.
Yes, decanting does change the wine, but whether that is a good thing or not is debateable. It might make a cheap or young wine more palatable - but you also lose character.
So I might decant a cheap red, and allow it mellow for a bit. But I would only decant a fine Burgundy just before serving it. Don't want to lose that delicate aroma.
Oxygen will never "release flavour" in any kind of chemical reaction. Oxygen will only oxidise wine, which is not a good thing unless you want sherry. Contact with air will of course allow the flavour to be released. But surely that cannot be a good thing ? Don't we want ALL the flavour ?
Getting rid of some the intial smelly molecules from a well aged wine might be a good thing for some grapes, perhaps a heavy Barolo which might have a bit of a whiff early on , but decanting anything too delicate may not be a good thing. Or you might take the edge of something a bit rough and ready.
Yes, decanting does change the wine, but whether that is a good thing or not is debateable. It might make a cheap or young wine more palatable - but you also lose character.
So I might decant a cheap red, and allow it mellow for a bit. But I would only decant a fine Burgundy just before serving it. Don't want to lose that delicate aroma.
The purpose of decanting is to get rid of the deposit that an older wine may have "thrown" (i.e. has settled out whilst sat in the bottle maturing). Deposit is nasty stuff if you get a mouthful when you drain your glass. Gritty little crystals - blurgh.
To ensure the last glass is as nice as the first you can "decant" the wine - all this is is pouring it out slowly and carefully leaving the crud behind. Some people, like me, use a fine mesh to aid the process.
Modern, supermarket wine is usually filtered before bottling - there should be no deposit in the bottle. The wine is also produced for drinking young (good for cashflow) and hence no decanting should be required.
You CAN decant for the purpose of trying to oxidise the wine a bit. This is an attempt to produce a little of the same effect of aging the wine in bottle (limited access to oxygen). You might take some of the rough edge off something young, French and nasty by doing it - it's worth a try.
It is NOT "poncey" to avoid chewing on nasty, gritty deposit. It may be "poncey" to pretend to know more about wine than one does - but that's the same about absolutely anything...
To ensure the last glass is as nice as the first you can "decant" the wine - all this is is pouring it out slowly and carefully leaving the crud behind. Some people, like me, use a fine mesh to aid the process.
Modern, supermarket wine is usually filtered before bottling - there should be no deposit in the bottle. The wine is also produced for drinking young (good for cashflow) and hence no decanting should be required.
You CAN decant for the purpose of trying to oxidise the wine a bit. This is an attempt to produce a little of the same effect of aging the wine in bottle (limited access to oxygen). You might take some of the rough edge off something young, French and nasty by doing it - it's worth a try.
It is NOT "poncey" to avoid chewing on nasty, gritty deposit. It may be "poncey" to pretend to know more about wine than one does - but that's the same about absolutely anything...
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