What you need to know about wine decanters and carafes
2.11.2017
Translation: Eva Francis
Pouring wine into a decanter or a carafe might serve a similar purpose, but there’s an important difference between the two. Read on to find out more.
Wine decanters
Slowly pouring wine into a decanter helps filter and remove any sediment that may remain in the bottom of wine wines. It’s important to stop pouring when the sediment gets close to the bottle neck. Should you pour too long, just be more careful when you’re pouring the wine from the decanter into your glass. There are even decanters with built-in sieves that make sure no sediment gets into your glass. Young wines and aged white wines usually don’t have sediment, which is why a decanter only makes sense for aged red wines.
Wine carafes
Carafes are great to allow wine to breathe and unfold their full flavour. By exposing wine to air, acids, esters and hydrocarbon molecules, which are important flavour carriers, react with the oxygen. This procedure is mainly used for young red and white wines. With aged wines, there’s a risk of oxidation – a chemical reaction that occurs more quickly if wine has a low tannin content. The older red wine, the less tannin it usually contains.
The right choice
Young red and white wines Decanters with a flat base and a wide bowl are most suitable for young red and white wines, as a large surface area of the wine is exposed to air. As a result, the wine can breathe and develop its full bouquet.
Aged red wines The longer wine has aged, the shorter it should be exposed to air. Flavour unfolds through the aging process and the wine may deteriorate if the process is supported by exposing it to air for a long time. You may even end up with wine that tastes like vinegar. Therefore, use a slim carafe that provides a small contact surface between wine and air.
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Tanja Lehmann
Senior Category Business Manager
tanja.lehmann@digitecgalaxus.chFriends, family, cats and good wine are my lifeblood.
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