To Decant or Not Decant…

The age-old question – should I decant my wine?

Well, I think it depends on the style and age of the wine but the general rule of thumb is that if the wine is quite old then it probably won’t need too much decanting (if any at all), perhaps just 30 minutes in a decanter or an hour if left in the bottle with the cork out.

If the wine is young and perhaps on the medium to full-bodied side, then I would suggest a good hour or two in the decanter to aerate the wine and let it settle, which will bring it to life. Bigger reds such as Barolo and Barbaresco will need more time in the decanter than most to allow these more tannic wines to be at their peak for tasting.  Don’t be shy decanting a young Barolo or Barbaresco for 4 hours or more, trust me, it won’t go off!  With older wines, it may also be a good idea to decant the wine through a mini kitchen sieve to ensure you don’t get any sediment in your nicely aerated wine – this drives my wife slightly mad but gets over it when she tastes the wine!

Lighter red wines rarely need much decanting.  Wines made from Pinot Noir, such as Red Burgundy and Gamay (Beaujolais) can be served straight from the bottle and often taste great in the summer served slightly chilled from the fridge.  These wines are less tannic and hence don’t require the same procedure.

And don’t be shy decanting a white wine also – fuller, richer whites such as White Burgundy can also benefit from either a quick decant prior to drinking or just open the bottle and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

As the suggested decanting times vary from wine to wine, we are now providing QR Codes with every case so you can access tasting notes, food pairings and breathing times for all wines in your case so this will help you determine how much air is needed for each one.