The Ultimate Guide To Wine Decanting

Some people may consider decanting as an "elitist" act to show off, however, the process effectively serves its purpose, especially if you are opening old bottles of wine. But yes, a year-old rosé needs no such extra care. Check out our comprehensive guide on why decanting is important and how to do it right.

What is wine decanting exactly?

The word "decanting" itself means "to transfer". In older and unfiltered wines, it is used to remove sediment from the bottom of the bottle. For younger red and, less commonly, white wines, it serves to aerate. Decantation gives the wine more oxygen and opens it up to the consumer, allowing the rich aromas and flavors to emerge.

Wine decanting is a process by which the divine liquid gets transferred to another bottle, leaving the sediment that has formed in the old bottle (and not for consumption). On the other hand, this allows the wine to be aerated. The ethanol, which gives the wine its characteristic alcoholic smell, is quickly broken down when it encounters oxygen, as are the bad-smelling sulfites, which are now present in almost all wines for microbiological reasons.

In addition, the wine in the decanter can be brought to the right temperature in the decanter if necessary, as there are now decanters suitable for storing ice, in which the wine can be cooled.

Wine decanting for sediment separation

Sediment can accumulate at the bottom of the glass for a variety of reasons: In white wines, this occurs almost exclusively in unfiltered bottles. It is more common in red wines, where the colorants themselves, combined with the tannin, precipitate out of the wine over the years and accumulate at the bottom of the bottle.

Carefully lift the wine from your wine cellar shelf - whether it's horizontal or vertical - and handle it with care once removed. Don't shake it to keep the sediment from mixing in the bottle; it's best to leave it in the same position as before. If you have stored the wine horizontally, you can carefully place it in a wine basket, if not, a bread basket or a longer bowl will do. The main thing is to put the bottle with the neck out so that the sediment is collected on one side of the bottom of the bottle.

When decanting a wine to separate sediment, it is always a good idea to light a candle on the table and place it so that the candle illuminates the bottle to see when to stop the process. Pour the wine slowly and carefully from the bottle into the decanter, giving up a drop rather than pouring through the sediment.

Decantation to empower fragrances and flavors in the bottle

After the winemaking process, the liquid is kept in bottles. In the cork-sealed liquids, micro-oxidation begins, in which very little oxygen penetrates through the cork and allows the wine to continue to age over the years.

The oxygen comes into contact with the wine only on a limited surface, partly because the cork is not letting much air in, and partly because the wine, even when stored on its side, only comes into contact with oxygen through its top layer (the rest of the liquid is sealed off from oxygen by the liquid itself). When you pull the cork out of the bottle, the oxygen flows in through the neck of the bottle, but even then it can barely come into contact with the air.

The aromas and flavors are more easily perceived by the nose and mouth in the wine after 1-2 hours in the decanter. The unpleasant smell of ethyl alcohol disappears from the air, and the sulfurous trace is also reduced. The effect of oxygen on wine cannot be reversed, only stopped. Only place a full bottle in the decanter if the bottle is consumed during the evening, as placing it back in the bottle would give the wine another blast of oxygen, and leaving it in the decanter also continues the oxidation process.

If you just want to sip a glass of wine from a fine bottle, it's best to pour the wine directly into a large, funnel-shaped glass, swirl it to get more oxygen, and store the wine bottle in a cool place, even the refrigerator, away from air.

What wines should we support with decanting?

Wines that are fuller and denser will benefit much more from this process. Young red wines with lots of tannins or complex, rich structure or older wines are perfect for decanting. Great examples you can safely decant are Burgundy, Bordeaux, Corton-Charlemagne, or Alsace. 

Thinner red wines like Pinot Noir, Côtes du Rhone, or Chianti are not improved by aerating. The same goes for 99% of white wines and rosés: aeration compromises enjoyment, degrades the flavor profile, and reduces complexity. 

How long should we decant?

• Pinot Noir / Chardonnay: 30-40 minutes (Burgundy)

• Ccabernet sauvignon / merlot: 2 hours (Bordeaux)

• Tempranillo: 2 hours (Rioja, Ribera del Deuro)

• Sangiovese: 2 hours (Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti)

• Vintage Port / Madeira: 2 hours syrah / shiraz: 2-3 hours mourvèdre / monastrell 2-3 hours (Bandol)

• Nebbiolo: 3+ hours (Barolo, Barbaresco)

What is double decantation?

Some wines need to be decanted twice. In practice, this means pouring the wine once into the decanter and then back into the bottle - already washed out. Double decanting has two advantages: even closed wines open relatively quickly, the sediment is removed twice.

It is particularly recommended for very concentrated red wines with high extract and tannin content. This can be a young Italian Barolo or Barbaresco, a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a Malbec aged in oak barrels. Experts recommend letting it rest for at least an hour. 

When to avoid decanting?

It’s safe to say that champagne and sparkling wines should not be decanted in order to preserve their bubbles. It is also not a good idea to decant rosé wines bottled last year, as there is nothing to open (except the bottle itself), and if there is sediment at the bottom, it is rather dirt and certainly not the residue of aging on the yeast.

Care should also be taken when decanting vintages that are a decade or more old, as the aging process in these bottles is well advanced and any manipulation could cause the wine to decay. If you decide to decant because of the presence of sediment, decant no more than half an hour before drinking.

If you collect award-winning or historic bottles in your wine cellar, the best approach is to consult with the seller or auction house about their suggestions regarding wine decanting.  Innovative Saunas and Cellars Inc, also offers Sommelier Services to help you on your journey with wine. We offer a range of consulting services to include options for individual interests.

• Initial Cellar Stocking

• Cellar Organization

• Wine Education

• Wine Recommendations / Sourcing

• Wine Investing / Valuation / Liquidation

• Wine Events / Tastings / Dinners

Innovative Saunas and Cellars, Inc

In building custom wine cellars, we work with you every step of the way to provide exactly what you envision. Changing the way you imagine your ordinary cellar. With over thirty one years of experience working on some of the finest homes. We pride our self on dependability and superior quality work. We also offer servicing and maintenance!

A wine cellar can be the jewel of your home: they amaze your guests and quickly become the center of the conversation. The racks, shelves, and temperature follow your personal needs, achieving not only the design but the practical side of wine storage. We can design the best cellar for your needs using any material you can imagine: high-quality wood, glass, or metal. Our expert wine cellar builders will bring your dream design to life.

Feel free to explore our website if you would like to learn more! You can also view our gallery, showcasing the custom wine cellars we have built for our gracious customers.

What Makes A Good Wine Cellar?

Designed by HoneyBee Designz

Modern wine cellars can easily become the crown jewel in any home with their beautiful, organized look. The lighting, the storage furniture, the size of the bottles, and their placement on the wine racks are all important aspects. In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of what makes a good wine cellar.

The aspects of a collection-ready bottle of wine

It is a new trend among collectors to prefer Chilean, Argentinian, New Zealand, Australian, and South African wines, which are still available today in very good quality and also at a very reasonable price.

The situation is different in the traditional Western European and American markets, where it is difficult to get into the circle of those who are allowed to buy from reputable wineries. Investment funds are willing to buy wine from the large French and American wineries as long as they have grapes because they are confident that the value of the products made there will continue to increase.

What are the qualities that make some of the featured lots sought-after treasures at major international auctions? Quality, durability, rarity. It is the combination of these qualities that can determine the ultimate value. Of the three main criteria, it is perhaps quality that is the most difficult to determine from year to year. Shelf life, ripeness, and rarity themselves are facts that can be documented from wine to wine. 

If we look into the chronicles of past decades or even centuries, records, auction reports, and wine descriptions by reliable experts give us not only reliable clues but also guidance. However, we do not know the organoleptic characteristics of the fresh lots in current auctions until we have the opportunity to interact with the lots in a blind tasting. The last ten years have done a lot to raise the standard of wine knowledge in this area. More and more people seem to be tasting wines more consciously, which is ultimately the biggest incentive for producers.

Well-ageing bottles

The Speyer wine bottle (Römerwein) is believed to be the oldest surviving wine in the world, dating back to Roman times. In 1867, the sarcophagus of a Roman nobleman and his wife was found containing 16 bottles, one of which was completely intact. According to scientific studies, it survived nearly 2,000 years because the bottle was sealed with wax and a few drops of olive oil were added to the wine as a "preservative." Experts have debated practically since the discovery whether the bottle should be opened to analyze its contents. So far, the "no" side has won and the glass is now part of the collection of the Speyer History Museum.

For a wine to mature under positive conditions and become even better as time passes by, it needs natural preserving elements. It must contain alcohol, acidity, sweetness, sugar (natural sugar from grapes), and be rich in tannins. Several characteristics of the wine are determined by tannic acid:

• It is found in grape skins, stems, and seeds; 

• As a result of maceration and fermentation on the skins of the blue grapes, it gives the wine a characteristic tart flavor present in red wines to a greater extent than in white wines; 

• Barrels add tannins and aromatic molecules to wines, having a positive effect but only in ideal amounts. 

The best collection-ready, old, and serious bottles are coming from Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot), Burgundy (Pinot Noir & Chardonnay), Northern Italy, Piedmont (Nebbiolo), Tuscany (Sangiovese), Veneto (Corvina, Molinara, and Rondinella for the Amarone Classico trio), from the Napa Valley in California (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay), and Priorat and Rioja (Tempranillo) in Spain.

What is the best method to store your collection?

The older the wine, the less good it is for it to suffer from strong fluctuations in light and temperature. Wine thrives at a temperature between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius, with an optimal humidity of 50-80%, making wine cooling an important factor. However, most experts say that corked wines should be stored flat, as the cork comes into contact with the wine and prevents the cork from drying out. 

If the humidity is properly adjusted and maintained, bottles can be stored upright in the cellar. However, if you do not have a well-built individual wine cellar, it is better to store the bottles lying down. Many collectors buy bottles in larger sizes, as wine tends to remain more stable in larger bottles than in a 750 ml size.

A few practical tips for organizing your collection:

• Assign sections by type of wine. Start with rosé and sparkling wines, then move on to white and red wines, and finish your collection with the dessert wine section. Another handy grouping idea is to separate the wines for everyday consumption and the collection. 

• Wine labels help to easily identify departments and other aspects of the organization. Many collectors group bottles by region, manufacturer, or even type of food. This way, you can make sure not to pop up a bottle of 1830 Duque do Porto for sushi night. (If mentioned, sushi goes well with off-dry Riesling).

• Advanced technology is on your side not only when it comes to creating the perfect temperature and keeping up the right level of humidity. You can either register your collection in a spreadsheet (such as Google Sheets), or you can use CellarTracker (or one of its six alternatives), which helps manage the collection with great features. You can set the price and time of purchase, and the most innovative apps notify you in advance when your wines are best to consume.

The best wine cellars look stunning because they are built for just that place in your home. Innovative technologies help you maintain the necessary environmental conditions for your collection while allowing you to organize your bottles according to your needs. Get inspired by our quick guide and update your collection today. And remember, the best collections deserve fascinating storage on high-quality wine racks.

For more information on how to properly store your wine, and the perfect storage temperature for each type of wine in your collection, feel free to view our wine storage guide infographic below!