Decanting

[GordonCooks]

I've decanted my fair share at home and experienced it in restaurant settings. My question is regarding younger wines with little or no sediment. Older wines are almost always poured slowly to prevent transfer (sediment) to the decanter but I've seen some young whites and reds poured out with the bottle almost inverted. I have heard some spirit connoisseurs comment on bruising a fine gin but can you affect a wine in general by dumping it like a pitcher of maple syrup. I myself pour fairly slow trying to follow the neck of the decanter to aerate but not foam - am I being ridiculous?

[awbrig]

I heard that gin bruising is a myth....

I pour it slowly into the decanter too in order to prevent...

if there is sediment it doesnt get splashed around and mixed

the wine splashing all about the decanter and God forbid some may splash out

it gives a better presentation

less foam/bubbles

Im with ya!

[Charles Smith]

Since the idea on decanting young wines is to get them to open up, vigorous decanting is what you typically want. Maximum exposure to oxygen. I've not heard of any negatives, other than those who don't think it's necessary.

[hollywood]

Since a lot of the younger wines have been filtered and fined, what's the worry about sediment?

[awbrig]

I meant in general....you never know...

[GordonCooks]

Sediment is not a concern - the wine in question was a 99 Beaux Freres Pinot ......that the waiter dumped out like cans of Budwieser at a fraternity funnel party. I thought he may as well as poured the wine in a cocktail shaker and strained it into martini glasses

I may do a taste test myself over the weekend just to see the diff (if any may exist)

[Charles Smith]

The reason to decant this way is if you think the wine is tight and needs to open- IMHO, a restaurant should tell you that about the wine when it's ordered- (not that I expect that to happen)

[ivan]

I profess ignorance (in general, as a rule), but it seems to me that if the goal is maximum aeration, vigorous "bottoms up" decanting is not sufficient. A slow pour down the inside wall of the decanter, so that the wine spreads out into a wide shallow stream, would expose more of the wine to air than a quickly-moving thick stream.

In any case, a wine worth drinking should be treated with dignity, at least, if not reverence. It is, after all, a miracle. Sloshing it carelessly into a decanter shows disrespect, and says more about the slosher than it does about the wine.

[GordonCooks]

The reason to decant this way is if you think the wine is tight and needs to open-  IMHO, a restaurant should tell you that about the wine when it's ordered-  (not that I expect that to happen)

I do agree with decanting younger wines for that reason and had good luck with it - I guess my question is; does an aggresive, almost vigorous decant affect the wine in any manner ? Has anyone ever seen a '61 Bordeaux poured upside down though a strainer ?

[awbrig]

Nice post Ivan, I agree w you!

[tommy]

A slow pour down the inside wall of the decanter, so that the wine spreads out into a wide shallow stream, would expose more of the wine to air than a quickly-moving thick stream.

i don't know about that.

[Charles Smith]

I guess my question is; does an aggresive, almost vigorous decant affect the wine in any manner ? Has anyone ever seen a '61 Bordeaux poured upside down though a strainer ?

I would think that you could harm an older wine by roughing it up. I've not seen an older Bordeaux go through a strainer, but have poured older ports and some other older wines through cheesecloth with no ill effects.

[Charles Smith]

A slow pour down the inside wall of the decanter, so that the wine spreads out into a wide shallow stream, would expose more of the wine to air than a quickly-moving thick stream.

Not sure that's true- you definitely swirl a wine to get maximum exposure, so vigorous decanting makes sense to me.

as for the other bit, I would think that anything that makes a wine better is worth trying.

[GordonCooks]

I guess my question is; does an aggresive, almost vigorous decant affect the wine in any manner ? Has anyone ever seen a '61 Bordeaux poured upside down though a strainer ?

I would think that you could harm an older wine by roughing it up. I've not seen an older Bordeaux go through a strainer, but have poured older ports and some other older wines through cheesecloth with no ill effects.

This is my point - I would not like to see '61 Bordeaux crashing on the bottom of a decanter - I'm just not sure if it damages the wine and this is what I'm trying to ascertain.

Foam is maximum areation - you're wrapping wine around bubbles of air. Is foam good or bad ?

Is there a molecular viticulturist in the house ?

[awbrig]

no, but I can do a little ventriloquisting...

(who said that)

[tommy]

Not sure that's true- you definitely swirl a wine to get maximum exposure, so vigorous decanting makes sense to me. 

not to speak for others, but i think it was suggested that a slow *wide* stream down the side of the decanter (presumably the *in*side) would provide maximum surface area. this is essentially what swirling does.

[Stone]

The reason to decant this way is if you think the wine is tight and needs to open

I think you all need to be decanted.

(I'm just teasing. Excuse me while I open a bottle of Bud in my belly button.)

[ivan]

Foam is maximum areation - you're wrapping wine around bubbles of air. Is foam good or bad ?

Foam is certainly maximum aeration, but the foam you get after sloshing wine into a decanter involves only a small amount of the decanted wine. If the wine is poured quickly in a thick stream, some of the liquid is not exposed to air. I don't know about "bruising" wine, but I wouldn't want to risk it even with a young wine.

Aerating a wine "unlocks" it because it accelerates alcohol evaporation, which carries all the marvelous aromatics that give wine complexity. It seems to me that there could be too much aeration -- that is, you want the aromatics to be released when the wine is in your mouth, not beforehand into thin air. If foaming and otherwise roughly aerating young wine made it taste better, then I would think we'd see veteran oenologists using little immersion blenders during tastings. However, the most I've ever seen a wine expert do is swirl the wine in the glass. Reverently.

(Actually, many wine tasters also like to aerate the wine while it's in their mouths by sucking air through it in sort of a reverse gargle. This does greatly enhance the flavor of wine, but is very rude at table).

[Charles Smith]

mostly, if you think the wine might need this kind of decanting (right or wrong) to be any good- wait. drink something else.

[tommy]

(Actually, many wine tasters also like to aerate the wine while it's in their mouths by sucking air through it in sort of a reverse gargle. This does greatly enhance the flavor of wine, but is very rude at table).

it can be done in a subtle fashion. i find myself doing this out of habit with just about every liquid that i put in my mouth.

[Wilfrid]

Yeah, but it's when you ask to see the label on the Bud Lite that it gets really embarrassing.

[ivan]

The reason to decant this way is if you think the wine is tight and needs to open

I think you all need to be decanted.

(I'm just teasing. Excuse me while I open a bottle of Bud in my belly button.)

Beer is properly opened using eye-sockets. Wimp.

[Stone]

The reason to decant this way is if you think the wine is tight and needs to open

I think you all need to be decanted.

(I'm just teasing. Excuse me while I open a bottle of Bud in my belly button.)

Beer is properly opened using eye-sockets. Wimp.

I find that the rapid expansion of gas from the bottle mixes quickly with the volatile acids naturally forming in the belly button and then is pulled back into the bottle by the brief vacuum caused by the removal of said bottle from said button. The resulting aeration of the beverage during the period whence it is raised to the moistened lips produces a cloying texture of ambient bouquets that are pleasantly garnied about the nostrils and tendrils.

Opening a bottle in the eye is a cheap parlor trick often displayed among the fraternitazi to impress the uncouth vulgar women drinking Zima.

And may I say, comrade, that your presence on this thread has been remarkably bourgeoisie. Watch your back, I believe someone may be lurking with a hammer.

[ivan]

And just what exactly is wrong about uncouth vulgar women drinking Zima?

[Stone]

It's too late to play that "man of the masses" crap.