Jul. 28, 2010 - Issue #771: Young at Heart

Veni, Vidi, Vino

You decant go without it

Decanting wine opens up a new world of flavour

Not only is it true that "life is what you make of it," as Eleanor Roosevelt said; wine is what you make of it, too. In other words, to maximize your wine experience, a decant may be just what that bottle needs to awaken flavours, smooth out harsher tannin and show you its drinking potential.

There are a couple of different reasons why decanting has existed as long as winemaking. In centuries past, most wines didn't go through the fining and filtration processes before bottling and therefore had plenty of sediment on the bottom. Today, many wine nerds obsess that the sediment is like little pieces of the terroir (a French term for the notion that the complex combination of soil, climate, exposition and local tradition define the style of wine right in the bottle) adding charm and sense of realness. Others think sediment is unsightly, even in that 1993 Bordeaux that's been aging in your basement, as sediment naturally occurs in the bottle aging process.

Second, wines that have grippy, harsh tannin—either from youthfulness of the wine or tannic grape varietals that are known to be saliva-sucking terrors—need to be decanted. What this does is provide a whole lot of air contact to the wine, called aeration, which has an effect of softening tannin and encouraging complex flavours in the wine to show themselves. For example, one of my personal favourites is this huge GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend) from the Languedoc province of France that has acerbic tannin and flavours quite similar to bitter coffee that transforms into raspberry mocha with softer, more subtle tannin when decanted.

In essence, a wine can be decanted by simply opening the bottle and pouring out a small portion so there is slightly more surface area exposed to the air. Some wine aficionados are advocates of the bottle decantation method solely for aged wines, while others believe this to be the premium method of decanting for all wine. Aged wines do better with a slower decanting process because with bottle age, tannins soften naturally, developing more complex flavours. Conversely, younger, more tannic wines need a longer time to open up, and you may find yourself cracking that bottle open a day ahead of your desired drinking time. A decanter may be a better option to the 24-hour patience test.

Exponentially speeding up the decanting process, one wine may be ready to consume immediately after being poured into the decanter, while others may need more time to breathe. This depends heavily on the age of the wine, fullness of body and harshness of the tannin. While bolder, more tannic wines will need to decant for a longer period of time, the mid-priced, slightly harsh wines just need an hour or two. Generally, red wine benefits more from the decanting process than white wine, but in some cases full-bodied white wines may need a decant. A half hour should suffice to enhance any flavours.

Remember, each wine is its own unique beast and no exact science can tell you the precise minute when the wine has reached its peak of deliciousness. Tasting the wine frequently as it evolves and blossoms into all of its glory is pretty damn exciting. Drink it when it tastes good, because left too long, oxidization will occur, developing unpleasant flavours and aromas.

So what's available on the market for the average consumer to decant wine? Decanters come in all shapes and sizes, from simple to extravagant and made of everything from crystal to plain glass. Some of the latest glassware technology includes polycarbonate glass, which is a nice option because it is unbreakable.

Vinturis are the latest trend-craze on the market, offering single glass or by-the-ounce aeration. You simply pour the vino through the aerator straight into the glass, making this the faster aerator on the market. Alongside the efficiency, Vinturis are fun to use, and the noise of the air sucking into the Vinturi is pretty cool. V
  vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus