Wine experts will tell you just how important it is to decant your wine. When you open th bottle, it needs to be decanted right away for a number of reasons. Firstly, if you have a rather expensive bottle, decanting helps highlight all the best flavours and attributes of the wine. Secondly, if you have a cheaper bottle, it will allow some possibly unpleasant flavours and aromas to escape.
How long should you wait?
After decanting the bottle, you might want to know just how long to wait before you enjoy a sip. A good rule to folow is to add one hour of waiting time for every 10 years. If the bottle is 10 years old, you should it decant for one hour. A 20-year-old bottle needs 2 hours.
Shake it up
Unfiltered wines should not be shaken because of all the large particles. However, there are many wine lovers who agree that some shaking of filtered wines can be beneficial. You will need to open the bottle and pour out about one glass. Place the cork back in the bottle and shake well for about five minutes. Let the bubbles settle before you serve.
Use a strainer
Tea strainers work really well when it comes to filtering out sediment. When sipping on a fine wine, the last thing you want is to taste those solid pieces. Wine should feel smooth as it goes down. So, make sure that you filter as you pour or you can filter as you decant the bottle.
Swirl that glass
If you are a guest and your host pours you a glass of wine. You might not want to offend them by not tasting the wine right away. What you can do is swirl the wine in the glass to help aerate it and make it ready to drink.
Tips for older wine
An older bottle needs a little bit more care and attention. You will need to let it stand upright overnight because there is bound to be sediment that will need to settle at the bottom. The cork will most likely be longer on an older bottle and they can crumble so take care. If you like, you can decant the wine over a light or candle so that you can see the sediment and avoid pouring it out. Pour slowly and allow the wine to breathe properly before you taste it.