Decanting is a procedure where the bottle of wine is poured into another bottle or container using a decanter. Since ages people have been using the method of decanting to make the wine free of the naturally-occurring sediment, also at that time people used to buy and sell unfiltered wine.
One more use of decanting is to allow the wine to breathe and this method is applicable today also. Further reason for decanting can be alcohol. As it weighs more than other liquids it tends to settle at the bottom of the bottle. Hence to make sure that the wine is even and smooth throughout we can decant the wine. Usually today the wine bottles you get in the stores are too filtered to have any sediment and are not old enough for breathing it, but wines older than six months certainly need to be decanted.
The process of decanting wine needs little patience and trick. Just slowly pour the wine into to the decanter
The majority of wines which are available today do not need decanting actually because the process of making wine (filtering and fining wine) ensures that the wine is free from any kind of residue and is clear before the wine is bottled. You can serve these wines straight from the bottle. But home made wine still benefit from decanting.
How to Decant the Wine
- Take the bottle of wine which you want to decant and look for any sediment in it. If visible keep the bottle erect for around two days. At the time of decanting keep all the things and tool handy like corkscrew, bottle, a proper container, a flask and right amount of light. It should not be too bright.
- Remove the cork from around the bottle neck of the bottle and not just the top in order to have a clear view.
- Keep the lights shining through the bottle neck from behind to have a better view.
- Hold the container and start pouring the wine into the decanter, the movement should be steady without any stop.
- When the sediment is visible on the bottle neck stop pouring the wine and throw the rest of the wine.
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