Is there a reason to decant wine?

Question

Specifically speaking, an inexpensive red...beaujolais for the next few weeks.

Answer 1

For an inexpensive, new, wine there's not a lot of point.

It will slightly improve the aroma & taste due to aeration.

For older, more expensive wines, it can be crucial

Firstly, more for old wines, you are taking the wine off any sediment and will therefore get more usable wine out of it than if you are repeatedly picking it up/putting it down and disturbing the sediment

Secondly, the aeration you will get from decanting will have more effect than on a fresh wine due to the development of flavours & tannins that has taken part in the bottle.

So yes, decant, but you won't get much benefit from a new, cheap, wine

Answer 2

ALL REDS NEED TO BE DECANTED!!!!!

The reason for decanting isn't just to get rid of sediment, which is the dark stuff left over from continued aging in the bottle. Decanting allows the wine to breathe, or more specifically to allow a mild oxidation of the tannic acid that is a natural component of wine.

I used to do a little trick at a lot of tastings where I would open two bottles of the same wine from the same vintage and in fact the same case, so for all general purposes, they should taste the same. However, one was decanted 30-45 minutes before the tasting and the other was decanted and poured into glasses immediately. With the bottles labels hidden, people would compare and contrast the two wines, and delightfully exclaim how much better of a vintage and wine the previously decanted wine was. I'd let them go for about 15 minutes before showing them it was the exact same wine. My guess is most of my clients decant every red, now.

Let your wine breathe, decant it, and get a better wine for your dollar, even if it's a $10.00 bottle of Beaujolais . It makes a HUGE difference. Plus, it looks cool, too...

Answer 3

Decant for a half an hour if it's a Beaujolais. This style of wine is meant to be consumed early on.

Young, tannic wines that are meant to be aged need to be decanted the most. Oxygen causes aging over the years and decanting will produce a somewhat similar effect if you are not going to hold the wine until it's optimal time to drink.

Answer 4

You dont need to decant inexpensive wine at all.

Answer 5

no - not unless it has some bits of fruit in it or it seems cloudy. where pouring it through some cheescloth might help. Decanting can be used for presentation though.