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2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
Find out how to improve the aroma and taste of the drink using the method of professional sommeliers.
What is wine decantation
In chemistry, decantation is the process of separating a liquid from a sediment by pouring it from one container to another. For example, in a glass of water, the sand will settle to the bottom, and it can be separated by gently pouring the top of the liquid into another glass.
Thus, wine decantation is the process of cleansing wine from small particles and tartar that form in some bottles over time. Wine sediment is not harmful to health, but it can grind on the teeth and distract from the taste of the drink. The sediment removal procedure is carried out with aged wine.
Young wine is also decanted, but with a different purpose - to saturate with oxygen and accelerate the oxidation of tannins. These are substances of plant origin with tanning properties. It is they who make the wines tart and slightly astringent. After aeration, the young wine acquires a more harmonious and mature taste.
How it's done
To carry out decantation, wine is poured from a bottle into a special vessel called a decanter. A decanter for old wines most often looks like a regular glass or crystal decanter. The container for young drinks has a wide lower part and a narrow neck, which slightly resembles an alchemical vessel. The more the wine comes into contact with air, the more it will be filled with oxygen.
Usually wines are stored horizontally so that the cork does not dry out. However, before decanting, the bottle must be held upright for at least a few hours so that the sediment ends up at the bottom.
The wine is poured into the decanter slowly, the whole bottle. When it comes to young wine, the filled decanter is shaken to help oxygenate the liquid. After waiting about 15 minutes, pour the wine from the vessel into the glass in a thin stream.
Both red and white wines are decanted. The richer the wine, the more time it takes in the decanter. For example, young Bordeaux and New World wines are left to “breathe” for half an hour or an hour.
Is it possible to decant wine at home
In restaurants, professional sommeliers turn the decanting process into a real ritual: pouring wine in front of the guest, lighting a candle beforehand to create an atmosphere.
However, any wine, even the simplest one, can be “refined” at home using an ordinary decanter. In inexpensive wines, you are unlikely to find a noticeable sediment. However, if the smell after opening the bottle seemed too harsh, then decanting would be a good solution. After pouring, you will most likely notice that the aroma of the wine has smoothed out a bit.
If you don't feel the difference, try an experiment: decant one bottle, but not the other. Then pour the wine from the decanter and from the bottle into glasses and compare.
On top of that, decanting in a decanter is also a beautiful way of serving, which turns the drinking process into something special.
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