Ever wonder why the same glass of Cabernet or Pinot Grigio you drink at home and at your favorite restaurant doesn’t taste the same? The secret – proper wine serving. You may say that serving a wine is easy – just pop out the cork and pour. Well, not really. There is certain serving etiquette that needs to followed. For example, decanting is one of those essential features of wine serving which gets the best out of the wine. Of course, you can’t make a poor quality wine taste great just by serving it entrancingly, but by decanting you will amplify all of its qualities. And vice versa. If you have good quality wine, but do not serve it properly, you will certainly diminish its beauty. And this is in particular true for red wines.
But what is decanting? The simplest answer is transferring wine from its original package into unique Riedel wine decanters. This process allows wine to separate from any sediment it may have developed, which has a very acrid taste. All matured wines form sediment and the bottle should be left in standing position for about 10 hours before serving in order for the sediment to fall on the bottom of the bottle. Also, decanting helps aerate the wine which enhances the texture, flavor and aroma of the wine. When you decant the wine slowly, you allow for it to mix with oxygen which helps wine mature better and therefore intensify its bouquet. But with so many wine decanters on the market, which one to choose?
Choosing a decanter is actually quiet easy. But before we move to shapes, you need to know that wine decanters made out of glass and with high clarity best embellish wine aroma. And now, which shape to choose. Firstly, you need to figure out what you’ll use the decanter for. For example, if you open up a bottle of wine almost every evening, then you’ll probably be better off with something simple – something that does not take up a lot of room in your cabinet, is easy to clean and most importantly easy to hold and easy to pour from. So your best choice would be a curved shape decanter.
If you mostly drink full-bodied red wines, then you should get wide base wine decanter with fluted mouth. This decanter shape allows ultimate surface area for breathing which is essential for best wine drinking experience and allows wine to mix with oxygen easily and thus makes the process of aeration happen quickly. Easy to clean and use, this decanter will surely intensify the flavor of your favorite wine.
If you are, however looking for something elegant for a formal dinner you’re planning, then you should look for wine decanters with handle and/or unique geometric design. These are hand-made high quality decanters designed to not only enrich your dinner table, but wine texture, flavor and scent as well. You can either visit specialty shops or browse online for unique wine decanters and make every sip of wine a luxury.
