When it comes to decanting wine, there are three good reasons to do so.
Once wine comes into contact with air it begins to age more rapidly. Allowing a very young wine to “breathe” can be a good thing as it will open up and release all those lovely aromas and flavours. This is why wine drinkers swirl their wine around in their glass. The same thing happens when you decant a wine. I keep a glass jug in my kitchen cupboard at home for this purpose but only use it on young tannic wines. I keep my decanters for special occasions. Give your wine plenty of air while pouring and slosh it around in your decanter to release those flavours.
Once you decant a bottle of wine it needs to be drunk quickly, ideally within an hour or two, although a day probably won’t matter hugely. Remember those port decanters that used to lurk on every restaurant sideboard? Often the port had been there for weeks and had lost much of its lovely fruit.
The second reason to decant wine is to remove sediment. This applies more to older wines. As wines age, they sometimes throw a sediment. While this is harmless, it doesn’t look great, and it can make the wine taste a bit astringent if you get a mouthful. So, stand your elderly bottle upright (unopened) for 24 hours, and then gently pour your wine into the decanter until you can see some sediment through the neck. A white background helps here, so put a white napkin or piece of paper underneath the neck. Once decanted, older wines should be drunk fairly quickly.
The final reason is purely aesthetic — decanters look great. You can buy some incredibly expensive twisty ones that look more like abstract sculpture (and are not easy to clean) but a plain glass or cut glass decanter adds a touch of style to a meal.
There are a few downsides to a decanter. If you have thirsty friends, you may spend the evening jumping up every few minutes to refill. Once you decant a wine, you can’t really pour it back into the bottle so it must be finished. Some decanters are very difficult to clean. Online suggestions include diluted vinegar, denture tablets, or metal washing beads, but I simply use very lightly soapy warm water followed by a rinse or two in hot water. I find the biggest problem is drying the decanter, making sure you don’t have any unsightly water drops. A dishwasher, if it fits your decanter, will make the glass cloudy with time.
High levels of lead in crystal decanters have been shown to transfer lead to alcohol liquids. However, this involves tiny amounts and works incredibly slowly, so provided you don’t leave your wine (or whiskey) in a decanter for weeks on end, you should be okay. Many crystal decanters are lead-free these days.
Most wine shops stock a good range of decanters. Mitchell & Son and Terroirs in Donnybrook both have a nice selection. But so too do Ikea, Marks & Spencer, Dunnes, and some of the other supermarkets.
