Have you ever found that, for example during a dinner party, when you spend some time in the glass, the wine tastes better? Have you? Then you have personally appreciated the magic of decanting.
Basically, what happened? Well, as with all magic, the trick is there but you can't see it. When you pour the wine from the bottle into the goblet, you start the natural process of oxygenation, thanks to which the wine releases the scents intimidated by the long refinement in the bottle.
This is a simple operation, but in expert hands it can even take on the appearance of a ritual. In fact, the actual decanting takes place by means of the decanter, a curious glass cruet with a wide bottom and narrow neck, whose scenic effect is always guaranteed.
We have said that a wine left in a goblet for some time can look better due to natural oxygenation. However, the best decanting takes place in the decanter, for several reasons:
In order to obtain an excellent decantation, it is important to know the bottle you have in your hands. For example, if you intend to offer an important red wine such as a Barolo or a Pignolo, let it sit for half an hour, but if you have chosen a younger red wine, fifteen minutes will be sufficient.
Also take temperature into account. To understand this, if, for example, you took the decanter from the cellar, which is usually cool, and the bottle was instead in the kitchen at room temperature, you would produce a thermal shock; the wine would catch a cold wall and you would play it off. Make sure that the decanter and the bottle are always the same temperature.
Decanting generally proves useful in appreciating older, more mature wines, especially reds, although it is possible to see whites or young products in its belly. However, wines with twenty or more years risk being compromised by over-oxygenation, while others, aged in barrel for a little less time, improve their balance. The key is to know the wine so that it is decanted for the proper amount of time.
In any case, even if you uncork a bottle and wait for the right time to serve it, you will still get very good results. In Friuli we have a friendly approach to wine and most of the time we let it decant into the glass while we hold it in our hands, telling each other how the day went. Perhaps the magic of decanting lies there, in that wine left to rest in the goblet or decanter, while you chat or taste a good dish.
