I like Aromas
Here's a confession: I like to decant wine because I like the way a bottle of red wine looks in a big, crystal decanter, not because of the benefits of aerating the wine.
Still, don't knock the benefits of aerating wine, I say. The folks who make Wine Soiree also say that.
And because these good folks say that, and because these good folks gave me a Wine Soiree to try, and because it was Sunday afternoon and I was in the mood to have a glass of wine, and because I'd been staring at that Wine Soiree for two or three months, and because a lady I like suggested I try the Wine Soiree, I decided to take the Wine Soiree out of its package and give it a whirl.
Guess what. The Wine Soiree makes a glass of wine poured through it taste different from a glass of wine that was poured without the Wine Soiree.
Why would this be so? Well, the Wine Soiree exposes the wine poured throughh it to more oxygen than it would be exposed to were the wine simple poured straight into the bottle. This is important because wine that is thoroughly aerated tends to expose its full package of aromas and, in my experience, delivers softer tannins on the palate. Would you be surprised to learn that the wine poured through my Wine Soiree delivered and expanded array of aromas and softer tannins?
By the way, the wine used to conduct this highly unscientific experiment was the 2005 Mayo Family Winery "Random Ridge Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon(clients). It's a big wine on its own. In the hands of the Wine Soiree it's a big wine with softer tannin.
So then, do I recommend the Wine Soiree. Of course I do. It allowed more of the wine's aromas to expose themselves. And Lord knows, I like aromas.
Now what’s the name of this product again?
Forty years ago I got a coffee making lesson from an old man who claimed to have lived several decades of his life riding the rails as a hobo. Hobo coffee is poured in a long stream from a couple feet above the cup which the ex-hobo claimed made it taste a lot better. He made a believer out of me when I conducted a little blind tasting. Even coffee experts will tell you to start with cold water and don’t let it boil. Same thing, oxygen + tannins = immediate impact on flavor.
I think there is a correlation between hobo coffee and decanting to introduce oxygen to soften the impact of wine tannins. But I don’t think you need a special device to saturate a liquid with O2, just give it a good splash or decant it twice, the second time quickly. Even a hobo might figure that one out.
I use a decanter on all my redwines as well. My favorite bottle of wine to decant is St. James Winery Velvet Red. Tastes so much better afterwards in my opinion.
http://www.stjameswinery.com/shop/wine/sweet/velvet-red.html
I’ve done the side-by-side, even blind test of a wine before and after using the Vinturi. Yes, it really does the work of long decanting in just seconds. But one thing I like about decanting is enjoying the wine over a couple of hours and watching it open up. Sometimes the height of flavor comes after an hour, sometimes it’s two, three, or four. Depends on the wine, but I typically don’t want to go immediately to the finish line.
My favorite decanter these days? The carafe for a French press. Perfect size and much easier to clean than the fancy decanters.
I decant a wine based on the type of wine and the amount of aeration it may need. I may use a traditional decanter, allow a Cabernet to aerate in a Bordeaux glass, or use the Vinturi. A wine can be vary delicate and filled with many layers so I am careful to aerate using the most appropriate method that brings out the best qualities of the wine.
I’m not usually one for self-promotion, but given the topic, we used a blender to decant wine at the Lab not long ago:
http://rationaldenial.blogspot.com/2009/03/spanked.html