Decanting Makes a Difference

Most of you should have seen those beautiful decanters in glamorous movies and TV series. But why are they actually needed? Why not pour the wine right from the bottle and skip the additional step of placing your beverage into a decanter? Let’s try to answer this question.

 

Decanters have a long history in the wine tasting culture. The Ancient Romans first began to use the vessels made of glass for serving the wine and later, the Venetians introduced a decanter with a long slender neck that opens to a wide body. 

 

With decantation you achieve two main goals.

 

First, you remove the unnecessary sediment, separated from the liquid after some time spent in the bottle. Sediment may also be created if the wine was not filtered during the winemaking process. The sediment should be left in the original bottle, while the clear wine  should be poured into the decanter. Then the beverage can be served. Be accurate while pouring the wine into the different container, because you won’t want everything to mix up.

 

Second, you let the wine get in contact with the air (this process is also known as ‘breathe’ or ‘open up’). The aeration step is essential for the taste of the selected wine: it will taste much softer, especially if we take some very tannic species (like Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignon). But please be careful with more delicate wines like Pinot noir, too much air may spoil the taste.

 

The structure of a decanter is not aleatory. You will need as much surface area as possible, because the bigger amount of wine touches the air, the better. It’s recommended that you let it breathe for half an hour to an hour and never more than eight.

 

Maximize your wine enjoyment with beautifully crafted and easy to use Luigi Bormioli decanters - browse our collections for a beautiful, contemporary piece that will suit your taste.

 

Luigi Bormioli, the designer label of glassmaking, is synonymous with Italian Lifestyle. Our proprietary glassware formulas allow for an exciting fusion of elegance and technology.  Designed to enhance the tabletop and elevate the entertaining experience, these machine blown glasses are made in Italy, lead-free, durable, have laser cut fine rims, and will maintain their clarity after thousands of dishwashing cycles. You will enjoy their quality, brilliance, and strength for many years to come.