August 23, 2006

How to Decant Wine

We've all heard that there are wines you should let breathe, but it's not always easy to know how to decant wine. We've found a resource that gives you step-by-step tips on how to decant wine, whether it's young or old.

Decanting wine step-by-step

Decanting a young wine is easy -- just pour it into the decanter. Decanting older wine requires a little more finesse. Libbey teaches you how:

Stand the unopened bottle upright for a few hours (or a couple of days,if possible), to allow the sediment to settle to the bottom of the bottle.
Screw the corkscrew into the cork, not to push through the bottom of it. Remove the cork, and clean inside the neck of the bottle with a cloth to remove any cork particles.

Steadily, slowly and continuously, pour the wine into the decanter until the sediment reaches the neck of the bottle. The remaining wine containing the sediment can be discarded.

Never clean your decanter with soap. The soap residue can be difficult to remove due to the shape of the decanter, altering the taste of the wine. Instead, scrub the decanter with a brush, warm water and coarse
salt.

from Yahoo! Finance Press Release

Most of the wine we drink is pretty young, but if you're looking to decant and you don't have a decanter, you can buy one at Amazon.