How to Decant Wine Like a Pro: 7 Tips to Keep In Mind
If you want to impress your friends and family, or want to show off your expertise in the wine world, then you need to know how to decant wine.
Keyword(s): how to decant wine
Uncorking a 2014 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon or a 2018 Robert Weil Reisling is one way to elevate a dinner party with friends. However, if you want to go that extra mile in terms of knowing wine, you need to know about decanting.
Decanting is the best way to ensure your bottle of wine tastes at its optimal level of flavor. In this article, we will give you 7 pro tips on how to decant wine in your own home.
High quality and decadent wines deserve to be treated correctly; this guide will ensure that you know exactly how to do so.
1. Store Your Wine Correctly
Before you even begin to think about decanting your wine, proper storage of your bottles is paramount. This is to prevent any undesirable hot or cool temperatures interfering with the quality of your wine.
The best way to do this is to invest in a cooling system for your wine cellar. This is to ensure that your bottles are stored at the optimum temperature of between 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you don't have a cellar, you can always have a wine cabinet installed that keeps the wine at the same temperature and can hold between 14-1200 bottles of wine. These can also be a great way of displaying your wine bottles and add a stylish flair to your kitchen or wherever you chose to keep it.
2. Set Your Bottle Upright 24 Hours In Advance
If you have already chosen the wine, you will be opening it. If it's in a rack formation, you will need to stand it up horizontally for up to 24 hours before opening it. This is so any sediment that has gathered in the bottle can slip down to the bottom.
This makes pouring and decanting the wine a lot easier and will also mean the sediment will be removed from most of the wine liquid. This ensures a better finish of the wine and for it to be cleaner and taste better.
3. Select a Decanter for the Wine
Any top-class sommelier will recommend that you need to use a proper decanter to decant your wine into. Decanters help with aerating the wine, which in turn enhances the aromas and taste of the wine. This is done by allowing the wine to react with the oxygen when poured into the decanter, providing a softer and cleaner taste.
Decanting is especially necessary when dealing with red wines that have been left to age from anywhere between 5-10 years or more. The aging process will allow sediment to develop in the bottle, leaving a gritty finish and often a bitter flavor in the mouth.
Proper decantation and removal of any build up in aged wine are essential in ensuring that you are left with high quality and luxurious tasting wine at the end.
4. Removing the Capsule and Cork
When removing the capsule and cork ready to pour into your decanter, you want to make sure that you don't have any of the cork come off and fleck into the wine. This can be an issue if the wine is particularly aged and the cork has aged also.
You mustn't be shy when it comes to thrusting the corkscrew into the cork. If you don't screw it in deep enough, there is a change that the cork could snap in half.
Once you have the corkscrew firmly implanting in the cork, twist upwards and gently wiggle the cork if it is partially stubborn or doesn't want to come out.
5. Decant Your Wine Slowly
Once you have removed the cork and wiped down the bottle, it's time to pour it into the decanter. This needs to be done very carefully and slowly. It allows the oxygen to react with the wine and prevents the sediment from being disturbed at the bottom.
6. Identify Where the Sediment Is
Inspect your wine bottle carefully and work out where the sediment has begun to settle in the bottle. Sediment isn't always the easiest to spot. If you need to, you can always shine a light or torch on the bottle to make it better to identify and see.
Once your bottle starts to run a cloudy color or you can see specks of dust or sediment, it's time to stop pouring. This is usually a couple of sips at the end of the bottle. This bit of wine can be discarded and not added to the decanted bottle of wine.
7. How Long Before You Can Drink the Wine?
This is a hotly contested topic between master sommeliers; however, the general rule is that wines aged for 15 or so years don't need as much time decanted as younger or full-bodied wines.
Older or more delicate wines need approximately 30 minutes of decanting time, whereas younger and stronger wine benefit from an hour or even longer.
If you're concerned about how long to decant your chosen wine, why not ask a local wine merchant in your area what they would recommend.
How to Decant Wine: Where Do I Find Out More?
We hope this article on the 7 top tips on how to decant wine like a pro has given you all the information you need about caring for your wine.
Proper storage spaces that can store your wine at the correct temperature can ensure that your wine is always tasting its best. The same goes for making sure you have the correct vessels to decant your wine and give it enough time to breathe.
If you're interested in any of our products or would like to speak to someone about the decanting process, contact us directly!
Storage and preservation advice... From EuroCave France.
Did you know? All wines mature at the same temperature, whether underground or in an electric wine cabinet.
Maturing cabinets EuroCave reproduces all of the criteria required for effectively maturing wines, in this way recreating, on a smaller scale, the ideal storage conditions found in a natural cellar. 5 criteria are essential for a wine to reach its full potential:
Floating wine bottle holders and traditional freestanding wine racks can take up even more room due to their bulky designs. Not to mention, they are time-consuming to assemble. We searched the web to find the best floating wine rack design. After putting it through weeks of extensive testing, we’ve discovered two with the most aesthetically-pleasing and ingenious designs.
Made By Vinos, For Vinos
Our friends at VintageView have created the perfect floor-to-ceiling wine rack to highlight your collection with a modern twist. The VintageView Wall Series and Vino Series are great for spicing up the kitchen or adding a touch of class to any shop or restaurant. Put your bottles on display today with one of our elegant floating wine racks.
Available in 4 Finishes:
With the celebration of the holidays in the rear-view, it’s time to settle into the new year, and revel in all winter has to offer with our Winter Reviver wine cocktail! This wine cocktail is the ultimate luxury to get you through the cold and dreary winter. The notes of cherry and rosemary complement the full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon that’ll truly stimulate your senses!
So, get to mixing and try out our Winter Reviver recipe! Be sure to let us know what you think on social by tagging our handle @Coravin.
What You’ll Need:
Glass: Rocks Glass
Garnish: Powdered Sugar & Rosemary Sprig
Ingredients:
2.75 oz Guenoc, Cabernet Sauvignon
1.25 oz Rosemary Honey Syrup*
1⁄2 oz Cherry Juice
1 Lemon Wedge Squeeze (approx .25 oz)
3-4 Rosemary Sprigs
1 cup Honey (for syrup)
Powdered Sugar Garnish*
Steps:
This is a build style cocktail. Simply add all ingredients straight into glass. Finish adding ice. We recommend one large ice block instead of crushed, but either works fine. Garnish, sip & enjoy!
*To make Rosemary Syrup: In a saucepan pour 1⁄2 cup of water & steep 3 Rosemary Sprigs in hot water (medium heat) for 5-7 minutes. Add 1 cup of honey stir until dissolved & final texture is syrupy. Set aside & use when syrup reaches room temperature or colder.
*To Create Powdered Sugar Garnish: Wet the top half of glass with water. This can be done with a damp clean towel. Sprinkle powdered sugar over wet area & voilà!
Victor Hugo called cognac the "liquor of the gods." It's become known as a symbol of French luxury, the best brandy money can buy (yes, cognac is a brandy). Here's a primer on the liquors.
Where do they come from?
Cognac must come from the Cognac region in Southwest France, which is known for its superior terroir (the soil, climate, and topography that contribute to grape-growing conditions).
Brandy can come from anywhere in the world.
How are they made?
Brandy generally refers to a distilled spirit made from fermented fruit juice. It can be produced using grapes or fruit. (Calvados, for instance, is an apple brandy from the Normandy region in France).
Cognac, meanwhile, must be made from white grapes from one of six different terroirs; the Ugni Blanc grape variety is its primary ingredient, and grapes from "Grande Champagne" terroir are the most coveted. The liquid must be distilled twice, and its distillation season lasts from October 1 through March 31.
What about blending and aging?
After distillation, the liquid is blended and aged, which is what really makes cognac special. At Hennessy, for example, a tasting committee of 7 people meets from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to taste about 40 different samples of "eaux de vie," as the individual distilled spirits known before blending. It takes 10 years of training before one can join the committee, according to Jordan Bushell, the brand's national ambassador.
When planning a wine tasting party you’ll want to pick a theme. What kinds of wines do you like to try? There’s no right answer to pleasing all your guests, so make sure to give them a few diverse options. Everyone will appreciate the variety and you have a better chance of finding something for everyone.
You shouldn’t be eating during the wine tasting, other than the bread or crackers that will be needed to cleanse your palate. So decide whether you want to give your guests a light meal before the tasting, serve dinner, or do appetizers or desserts after the tasting. Ideally, some sort of food should be provided so your guests don’t get drunk while tasting the wines.
It goes without question that Coravin will be the star of your wine tasting. With Coravin the wine will never be tossed away when the party’s over and you can ensure everyone has a seamless experience when tasting. Do we hear a wine tasting part two?
Aside from your Coravin, you’ll need longer, less oval-shaped glasses for white wines and rounder, larger glasses for reds. Keep in mind the glasses should have stems so your guests don’t warm their drinks with their hands. You’ll also need a spittoon. This can either come in the form of a large bowl in the center of the group or as an individual cup for each guest. You’ll need an ice bucket for chilling the white wine to avoid running to the fridge, white tablecloth or white napkins to help your guests see the color profiles of your wines, and an aerator or decanter to help bring out the flavors in your red wine.
Send out your invites and gather all the wine lovers! Keep in mind that a good time to host your guests would be around 4pm when they haven’t had dinner yet or just after dinner when they’ve eaten, at around 9pm. It’s best to gather before or after dinner because you really shouldn’t be eating during the tasting. Eating will ruin the flavor of the wine.
It’s finally time to explore your wines, so put everything out on the table and get excited for the night! Go for some wine tasting techniques like swirling the wine around in the glass to let it “breathe” and encourage your guests to smell the wine to get a better sense of the flavor. Avoid having flowers or scented candles out in the room as those strong aromas could make it difficult for your guests to recognize the flavors of their wine. After that, your guests should take a small sip of the wine, swirl it around their mouths for a couple seconds, and either swallow or spit it out in the bowl or their cup. You should start off trying the lightest wines and working your way to the darkest ones. If you have dessert wine on the menu, you should taste it last, even if it’s a lighter color than the other red wines.