Decanting Wine, Pouring and
Other Serving Tips

There is still a lot of debate over when decanting wine is necessary. This section provides you with some information on when you should decant your wine and tips for pouring and serving your red wine. red wine serving tips

Decanting Red Wine
There are really only two times when you it's essential to decant your wine. The first is to remove sediment from wine. The second is to tame the wine a little if it’s too tannic to drink.

Decanting wines with sedimentation gives you the opportunity to remove the sediment from the wine. If they are not decanted, the sedimentation will be in the wine in your glass and you might end up drinking it. Since the sedimentation can be bitter tasting, decanting wine will increase your enjoyment when you are drinking it.

Wines that might include sediments are aged red wines that are around or over 10 years old. You might also find it in wine that has had little or no filtration done during the wine making process. To find out if your wine has sediment, hold the wine up to a light and see if there are objects floating around in the wine. If so, decanting wine is necessary to remove the sediment. If you don’t see anything floating in the wine, then decanting your wine is not necessary.

Here are the steps to follow for decanting wine:

Set your wine upright on the counter for a few hours or even up to a day. This will allow the sediment to move to the bottom of the bottle. Be careful when moving the wine, as you don’t want to shake up or stir it around in the process.

Once it’s had time to settle, slowly and carefully open the bottle of wine. Again, you want to make sure you don’t move it around too much as that will stir up the sediment and wine.

Slowly pour the wine into another container. The goal is to pour the wine without sediment in the container and leave the sediment in the bottle.

Have a light behind the wine as you pour it, so you can see when bits of sediment start to pour into the container. Once you see the first pieces, stop pouring the wine. Usually you will only have a couple of inches of wine still in the bottle and it will be filled with the sediment.

Once you have decanted your wine, you’ll want to drink it as soon as possible. Once the air starts mixing with the wine, the taste and aromas will begin to change. It’s best to begin drinking it no later than an hour after decanting the wine.

The other reason you may want to decant your wine is if it’s too tannic to drink. If you open the wine, taste it and it’s too tannic then you can quickly move it to another container in order to allow it to mix faster with oxygen. This will soften the wine and make it more drinkable.

The thing to remember is that most wines do not need to be decanted or moved to another container before drinking. This is especially true for younger or newer wines. However, if you enjoy the change in tastes and aroma that come with decanting your wine, then go ahead and move it into another container for aeration.

Here are some other tips for pouring and serving wine:

Red wine can be enjoyed in any glass, but using wine glasses specifically designed for red wine will improve the taste and smell of the wine.

The temperature of your wine when it’s served can also impact the taste, acidity, fruitiness and balance. If it’s too warm, it will be harsher and you’ll taste more of the alcohol. If it’s too cool, it will taste a little too thin and light. The best temperature for serving is at or just below room temperature (60° to 65° F). Visit the section Red Wine Serving Temperature Recommendations for more specific information on wine serving temperatures for the different types of red wine.

Once the wine is opened, give it a little time in the bottle to mix slightly with the oxygen. Giving it just a few minutes to open up will allow it to breathe a little before pouring it into glasses.

Only fill up your glass about half full to allow the wine to continue to mix with oxygen as you drink. Many people also like to swirl their red wine around, so this gives them the space in their glass to do this and allow the wine to mix more with oxygen before drinking.

Want to learn more about storing you wine before you enjoy it? Check out the section 8 Tips for Storing Wine. You will learn about the different things you need to do in order to preserve your wine in storage. If you want to store your wine after it’s been opened, then check out the section Storing Opened Wine for a few easy tips and tricks.

Return to Red Wine Storage and Serving Tips page from the Decanting Wine, Pouring and Other Serving Tips Page