Metrokane Rabbit Aerating Pourer

In a previous post we explained how oxygen is detrimental to wine, with only a few exceptions.  Once wine is in the bottle or in your glass, extensive exposure to air can eventually “oxidize” the wine resulting in a chemical compound called acetaldehyde, which smells like rotten apples in large amounts, and further into acetic acid, which smells and tastes like vinegar.  Neither of these compounds sound like something you would want to smell or taste in your wine does it?  That is, unless you are in the vinegar-making business.

So, you may be asking yourself, if air is so bad for wine, why and when should we decant?  Historically, before winemakers mastered the art of clarification, decanting was necessary for all wines to separate the wine from sediment.  Today, this is still recommended for older, high-quality wines that are expected to throw off sediment as part of the ageing process.  For inexpensive, everyday wines made from larger producers who are generally highly mechanized and filtrate their wines extensively this is not often necessary.

While decanting focuses on the separation of sediment from the wine, aeration allows wine to breathe, softening tannins & imminently improving drinkability.  Unfortunately, this is not true across the board for all wines.  The types of wines that will benefit the most from aeration, by letting wine sit for a period of time in a decanter or poured through an aeration device, are younger, bolder and fairly tannic styles such as Barolo, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Petite Sirah and new world Cabernet Sauvignon to name a few.  Many of these wines can be highly concentrated and tannic early in their lives to the level that any “loss” of initial sensory impressions by aerating can actually be a good thing!

Thankfully, there are several different ways to decant and aerate wine and is accompanied by just as many devices to meet the needs of today’s fast and furious society.  If you don’t have the time or need the pomp and circumstance of a crystal decanter and are looking for something that is quick and easy to use, here are few options to consider:

• Metrokane Rabbit Aerating Pourer (pictured above)

The Rabbit pourer behaves like a mini-decanter-with-funnel-in-one in that it sprays multiple streams of wine through holes in the device down the sides of the clear plastic funnel before entering the glass.  This one attaches directly to the bottle so you do not need two hands to aerate.

• Vinturi Travel Wine Aerator (see video below)

The Vinturi Travel is the mini version of the well-known Vinturi which uses two holes in the sides to allow air to enter the funnel as wine is poured through it and down the sides of the plastic funnel tip before entering the glass.  It makes a cool sound too!  The size of the travel version makes it easy for you to take it any where you like to enjoy wine.

• Nuance Wine Finer Aerator – Filter, Pourer and Stopper

Talk about all-in-one!  This little guy filters sediment AND aerates at the same time and is also placed directly in the bottle allowing your other hand to freely hold your glass or change the channels on your TV while pouring.

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Oxygen: Wine’s Nemesis

Oxygen is a threat to wine practically throughout the entire winemaking process, save for a few points during fermentation where oxygen at the right time can often enhance resulting flavors, aromas and color. Once in the bottle or in your glass, extensive exposure to air can eventually “oxidize” the wine into a chemical compound called acetaldehyde, which smells like rotten apples in large amounts, and further into acetic acid, which smells and tastes like vinegar. Prevention of air exposure is much more critical for white wines than reds mostly due to the abundance of tannins, which are more abundant in red wines due to skin contact, and anthocyanins, which are responsible for color in grape skins prolonging the oxidization effects described above.

But Wait, There’s More… or Less

Ok, now that I told you that oxygen is bad, I need to tell you that some oxygen exposure is good and can actually enhance the aromatics and flavor profiles of some wines. Ah, this lovely world of wine we live in. To be fair, in this case we should be talking about aeration, which is the deliberate and controlled exposure to oxygen through the means of decanting and breathing, which aims to encourage the revealing of the wine’s bouquet. It’s precisely for this reason we swirl our glass before digging our nose in the bowl.

The Hardware

There are many devices available to help preserve wine and protect it from extended exposure to oxygen. They fall into the following categories:

Vacuum & Pump Systems

With the aim to prevent air from entering the wine, vacuum and pump devices have been developed to remove air from open wine bottles. They are as simple as using a hand-pump that sucks the oxygen from the remaining head space in the bottle or more automated systems like the SoWine by Transtherm which can ensure your wine stays fresh for up to 10 days.

Nitrogen & Argon Systems

Inert gases are also helpful in preserving wine because they blanket the surface of the wine preventing oxygen from penetrating the juice. These devices come in easy-to-spray canisters as well as more automated systems such as the PEK Supremo Wine Steward which utilizes argon and can preserve your bottle for up to 10 days as well.  Most winery tasting rooms use inert gas to preserve open bottles.

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A Set of Ultima Burgundy Glasses

An Ultima Tasting Set

Vinturi Wine Aerator

12-bottle Mini Cellar

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In effect, decanting isn’t adding anything to the wine. Instead, it’s subtracting undesirable compounds through dissipation and evaporation. However, allowing the wine to sit too long in a decanter can have a detrimental effect. Decanting any wine too far in advance of serving could rob the wine of the very fruit aromas that you are trying to enhance. With a younger wine, you could be left with an overly-oaky and harsh taste as the fruit characteristics oxidize. With older wines, you could end up with something stale, flat and lacking in richness. So what’s the best way to decant and still hit this elusive sweet-spot?

Allow your wine to settle in an upright position for at least one day for younger wines and preferably as long as four days for wines older than 15 years. This gives the fine particles of sediment time to settle to the bottom of the bottle if you’ve been storing it horizontally.

Plan to open your wine about 90 minutes prior to when you anticipate drinking it. Carefully remove the foil entirely and wipe off the neck of the bottle. Remove the cork without disturbing the wine too much. Start off by trying some of the wine straight out of the bottle. If the aromas are intense and flavors are full and rich, the only reason to decant would be to remove any sediment, so you could wait to decant immediately before serving. Go ahead and stick the cork back in it and wait until you’re ready to serve it. The amount of air exposure from opening the bottle is negligible. If on the other hand the wine seems tight, lacking in aromas and fruit character, or has some slight sulfur odors, you should decant well in advance of drinking.

The traditional proper way to decant wine was using a candle under the neck of the bottle to see when sediment starts to pour out. That’s just too tricky and messy. The new proper way to decant wine is using a bright flashlight. Shine the beam through the neck of the bottle as you gently and slowly pour from the bottle into the decanter. Stop when you begin to see particles or cloudiness. You should have less than an ounce or two left with sediment which is discarded. An easier method uses a funnel with a very fine screen to filter out all but the smallest sediment particles which will most likely remain in the decanter. The sediment in wine occurs naturally as wine ages and molecules of color and tannins precipitate from the wine. This sediment is harmless but gives wine an undesirable cloudy appearance and could add unpleasant bitter flavors and grittiness.

What about white wines? Most white wines won’t have any sediment unless they haven’t been cold-stabilized, in which case, you may get small tartrate crystals. Some white wines will benefit from decanting, allowing more of the fruit and mineral characteristics to shine through as sulfur compounds and fermentation aromas evaporate. But many people like to decant a white wine simply because it makes for better presentation. In this case, a decanter such as the Riedel Amadeo Lyra Decanter makes for an impressive way to serve your white wines. A more cost-conscious yet elegant option is the Riedel Cornetto Sommelier Decanter.

So whether its to filter out sediment or to open up a young wine, or simply to serve your wine with elegance, there’s an art to decanting and IWA has a great selection of decanters to help you decant in style.