Ask The Cellars

One of the questions that we tend to hear a lot is “How and when do you decant wine?” Decanting is a way of aerating or introducing oxygen to your wine. Some wines are fine without any aeration, but many reds and a few whites will noticeably benefit from it. Wine benefits from breathing time and it is a good idea to open your bottle and pour a small glass to allow the wine to “open up”. As I have maintained for well over a decade (and the idea is now finally gaining popularity), simply opening the bottle and leaving it out on the counter only allows a surface area about the size of a dime to aerate. Pouring wine into a wineglass or decanter will allow more oxygen to reach the wine. The act of violently shaking wine in the glass to swiftly aerate it is widely considered to bruise the wine so we recommend avoiding such actions.

A decanter is a glass container that can hold the contents of a standard size wine bottle with room for needed air exposure. Many are very decorative and some even have cork-like closures. They can come in all shapes, some of which are specific to certain wine varietal types. Young, tannic red wines or wines showing sediment are prime candidates for decanting. It is best to allow the wine bottle to stand upright for a day or two. Then pour the wine into the decanter while watching through the neck of the bottle to monitor sediment flow. As the neck glass is typically quite dark, having a light or candle behind it will help you to better see the flow. Once you get to the bottom inch or two you’ll see some sediment, which is tannins and other matter that solidifies over time, and then you should stop pouring. After 15 minutes to an hour, your wine should be about perfect with the “nose” opened up and tannins softened. Some very hardy wines may require up to 4 hours in the decanter before they are ready to be enjoyed. Vintage Ports would be prime candidates for decanting as would many Cabernets, Barolos, Brunellos, Bordeaux (red & white), Rhone reds, Spanish reds, full bodied white Burgundies and many Alsatian whites. Of the wines that would be best decanted, a good rule of thumb would be to decant them if they are 10 years or more past the vintage date. Wines that are lower in tannins (many Pinot Noirs including all red Burgundies, Beaujolais, lighter Italians and lighter Zinfandels as well as older Riojas) probably won’t benefit from decanting and doing so might actually dull the taste of the wine. Vintage Ports are the only ports that need aeration as other Ports leave their sediment in the barrels.

Wine can be kept in sealable decanters for a few days (Vintage Port up to a few months), however a word of caution should be said about the use of older lead crystal decanters for long term storage. Doing so has been found to impart some traces of lead into the wine. Newer decanters like the Ravenscroft line of decanters featured at The Cellars Marketplace (http://cellars.com) are not crafted with lead oxide. It was formerly used by artisans when creating crystal ware because it made glass softer and easier to work. Drinking from lead crystal glassware has been deemed safe so no need to worry about that issue.
Cleaning a decanter should be done with a minimum amount, if any, soap. Many detergents can adhere to glassware surprisingly well and your “lemon-fresh fragrances” could transfer to your next decanted wine.

Visit our Cellars Marketplace for a wide selection of decanter’s, brushes, and glass cleaning solutions.

-Rod Olson
The Cellars Wines & Spirits

Greetings Mrs. Bryce,
Thanks for dropping me that note about helping you pick out wines for Thanksgiving. It sounds like you’ll have quite a crowd coming to your place. One of the fun things about having a large group is that you can have a wide variety of wines opened for the feast. One of the toughest things about pairing wines to the meal is that there are such a wide variety of tastes that hit the table. Just figuring out what to serve with turkey is relatively easy, but with stuffing, cranberries (tart), sweet potatoes(with marshmallows on top?) or regular potatoes, corn, etc. there is a lot happening and there is no single wine in the world that will compliment all of the traditional menu items at the same time. That said, it’s a good thing that you have a group to serve because then we can go with a variety of wines that will allow your friends and family to choose the style of wine that they like best. Of course we will focus on “turkey friendly” wines. For years one of the most popular wines that people picked was the old White Zinfandel. There are plenty to choose from but we are seeing many people replace those with Rosés. We have searched out many new ones and have great French, Spanish, Washington and German Rosés in stock. The Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling that I recommended previously would be a good choice, but we just locked in a fantastic buy on their Indian Wells Riesling that normally runs $18.99 and is currently on sale for $10.97! It is a serious “Must try” for a sweeter white wine. For something sweet, yet spicy in a white, go with a Gewürztraminer. Pinot Grigio is still hot and a lot of people will be serving those again this year. Try the Kris which has nice apple overtones with a crisp finish or the Santi which isn’t overly fruity but has wonderfully rich roundness and a background note of citrus. One that I have served for a few Thanksgivings is the delightful Evolution from Oregon’s Sokol Blosser Winery. It is a blend of 9 different white varietal types so it has a lot of fruit and is very complex. It has been a hit every time. Keeping in mind that there is red meat in turkey too, some people put a bottle or two of red wine on the table. For something lighter, try Nouveau Beaujolais that comes out the 3^rd week of November every year. I prefer my reds a little more full bodied for the Thanksgiving meal so I tend to gravitate to a Cru Beaujolais or a Pinot Noir instead. Right now we have a super special on the Estancia Pinot Noir and people are purchasing it at a furious pace. Any of the above would grace your table nicely and a combo of a few would be even better. Having a number of wines opened would also allow your guests to step outside of their wine comfort zones and try some new things that they otherwise might not. I hope you have a wonderful time. With you doing the cooking, I’m sure there won’t be much in the way of leftovers!
Thanks again,

Rod Olson

The Cellars Wines and Spirits