Wine is often decanted into a glass vessel with an easy-pour neck. Examples include the swan, cornett, duck, and standard decanters, which come in small, medium, and large sizes. And here is why you should try tasting wine that is served in a decanter.
Remove sediment from your wine
The sediment that develops over time in red wines is formed from tannins and tatrate crystals that gradually fall to the bottom of the bottle. Sediment in a wine is a sign the wine has gained character and complexity. However, it is not appealing to have pieces of gunk floating in your wine glass.
Breathing of your wine
Aerating a young wine will make it far mellower and more rounded than it would be served straight from the bottle. It gives wine the opportunity to express itself in its most open, intensified state. Aerating an old wine helps separate the sediment but also gives it exposure to oxygen, which in turn lifts the aromas from the wine.
Save your wine from a broken cork
Once in a while, a cork may break, dispersing pieces of solid matter you don’t want in your wine glasses. While pouring, the cork will gather near the neck of the bottle as you decant into another vessel (sediment does the same). If the cork disintegrates, use a strainer while decanting to filter out the smaller bits.
From young wine to old wine, red wine to white wine and even rosés, most types of wine can be decanted. In fact, nearly all wines benefit from decanting for even a few seconds, if only for the aeration. However, young, strong red wines particularly need to be decanted because their tannins are more intense.
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