Why and how to decant wine

There are two reasons to decant wine:

It is an old wine
It is a young wine and the wine needs oxidation

How to decant an old wine.

With an old wine, it is important that the decanting is done carefully. Because the wine is older, the tannins have diminished somewhat and the flavours in the wine have developed. When oxygen is introduced quickly, there is a risk of volatile acidity occurring and the wine becoming sour-tasting — this can happen very quickly. When decanting, it is therefore important that the wine is poured gently and not swirled too much. It is also important that the wine is poured into a narrow carafe. Finally, we recommend serving the wine to your guests carefully and as soon as possible, so you can enjoy the wine before it turns sour.

Examples of wines that are good to drink when aged:

Barolo
Burgundy
Chianti

How to decant a young wine.

A young wine is a wine that is at its best after 20 years, but is already being consumed after 5 to 10 years. With such a wine, decanting is very important. The wine needs to oxidise well to soften the tannins, which are still tight in a young wine. When the tannins are rounder, the wine is more pleasant to drink. The young wine does not need to be poured carefully. It is good if bubbles appear when pouring into the wide decanting carafe. After the wine has been poured, it should be swirled — you can do this yourself or, as with the VacuVin Swirling Carafe, let the carafe do the work. We recommend decanting the wine a few hours before you wish to serve it, so it is perfect when you want to drink it.

Examples of young wines are: