Why you need to taste wine served in a decanter

Decanting has numerous benefits, including separating the sediment from the liquid. This is especially helpful for red wines, which hold the most sediment. Decanting also enhances a wine's flavor by exposing it to fresh air, and allowing it to breathe.

Wines spend quite a while inside the bottle with no oxygen exposure. Aeration expands all the dormant aromas and flavors in your wine by releasing accumulated gases and softening the tannins. But keep in mind, too much oxygen can ruin a good wine. You must always limit the leftover's exposure to the air and keep it cool.

Decanting wine, while not difficult, does take some time and patience. To be sure you are doing it correctly, follow this guide:

1. Start by sitting your bottle upright for at least 24 hours before decanting, especially if you store your wines horizontally. Make sure all the sediment settles at the bottom of the bottle before opening it.

2. Open the bottle.

3. Slowly tilt the bottle toward the decanter. Always keep the bottom of the bottle low to keep the sediment from reaching the neck, and avoid disturbing the sediment.

4. Pour the wine into the decanter slowly but steadily. If the sediment starts reaching the top, stop pouring and tilt the bottle upright to let it settle down again.

5. Recork the leftover wine within 18 hours.

To avoid pouring sediment into the decanter, always leave a bit of liquid in the bottle.

You can decant your wine a couple of hours before you plan to drink it. However, keep in mind that each wine has different decanting times. Although there's little risk your oxidized wine spoiling if you planning to drink it within four hours, be mindful of the type of wine you're dealing with. However, be particularly careful with:

• White wines - This type has higher levels of thiols than red wines. When over-decanted, they can lose their grapefruit, guava, or passionfruit aromas.

• Sparkling wines - Generally, you shouldn't have to decant a sparkling wine. However, some might present a pungent aroma that needs to evaporate before drinking.

• Old wines - Some vintages are delicate and can decay quickly once they have been opened.

Red Wines

Red wines can take anywhere between 20 minutes and two hours to reach their fullest potential when decanting. Light-bodied red wines will only need up to 20 to 30 minutes. Some great examples are:

• Gamay

• Grenache

• Zinfandel

• Pinot Noir

Medium-bodied wines, on the other hand, should be decanted for 20 minutes to an hour. The most common examples are:

• Merlot

• Malbec

• Tempranillo

• Cabernet Franc

• Barbera

Lastly, full-bodied red wines take between one to two hours to decant. Some all-time favorites include:

• Cabernet Sauvignon

• Petit Sirah

• Monastrell

• Nebbiolo

Most red wines need at least 15 minutes for their reductive traits to evaporate. After that, an extra 15 to 30 minutes will make the remaining sharp aromas a lot milder. At the 60-minute mark, the tannins will become less intense.

You can tell if your wine is reduced if it lacks aromas or smells like:

• Rotten eggs

• Burnt rubber

• Garlic

Reduced white wines and rosés need to decant for up to 30 minutes, although 15 minutes should be more than enough. If you wait the right amount of time, the fruity scents will return.