If I ever made a list of the wine questions I’m asked most frequently, the question of decanting wine would definitely be near the top.
Decanting, for those who don’t know the word, means pouring wine from its original bottle into a container.
You’ve probably seen the ritual – even if only on television. The wine steward at a fancy restaurant gracefully and with much fanfare pours some really expensive wine with a fancy label into a beautiful crystal vessel (the decanter).
Like most of us, you’ve probably wondered whether decanting actually improves the wine or whether the wine steward just thinks he looks really cool because he can pour the entire bottle into a narrow-necked jar without spilling any.
Like many things wine-related, the answer is not clear-cut.
