EXTREEEME decanting

So you wanna decant? sexify you wine? Or you are just not patient and want something juicy and ready to go RIGHT NAO!

Fear no more.

Here is a humble rough guide for novices and lovers alike. Go buy a couple of bottles of white and red and try what you see below.

When to decant:

A great wine that you have no patience for. (by that I mean you cant wait for it to get better)
A wine that is too tannic (from youth, type of grape or just not that great)
When you know its a good wine, but its not showing much (when you drink it, there is nothing to smell)
White wine (the best whites can improve amazingly with a little bit of air)

Extreme decanting:
putting the wine in a blender or along those lines. Doable, but wont give you the fireworks you really pay for. It will soften the wine, but not 'age it'. Aging takes time.

When not to extreme decant:
An old wine, 10+years ( the sediment will be unpleasant, and it aged enough already!)


What to watch out for:

Sediment. Part of natural processes, and sign of a good wine. Extreme decanting will give your bottle and glass a mouthful of fine tannins. Not a bad thing, but the texture can be off-putting when you expect something silky smooth.
Its hard to know if your wine will have sediments, so I advice to check for that first.

Alternatives:

1. Decant the night before. Best done for brdx blends of decent quality. Though Pinot Noir might surprise you. Dont stir much, let air do its thing. (simple enough, innit?)

2. Decant and try it over several days. You'll notice how the wine changes and when its right for you. At some point it will hit a soft spot when the tannins are softer, and the aromatics jive better. Finding that sweet spot is where you want to be. This is good. Why?

a) gives you an idea of how long the wine will live (you will taste the difference)
b) gives you an idea of when do you like the wine the most (Might take time. Shocking, I know)
c) gives you an idea if you like the evolution of the wine. Some will show better than others, some grape varietals will show things you may or may not like.

3. Decant and stir. Legend has it that a young Mondavi used to do this backstage at wine tastings. Decant and stir to your hearts content.

4. Extreme decanting (use the blender). Many wine geeks have done this over the years. Some even have dedicated blenders for this. I heard about this years ago in erobertparker.com (an incredible fountain of knowledge, if a bit highbrow at times).
I think this introduces a bit more air than what is really necessary... but if the wine is a beast it helps make it a bit drinkable.

5. Time Traveling. Also from the geeks at erobertparker.com. Grab the leftovers, and throw them in the freezer. Label and drink at leisure. I find the flavor changes, but not as much as one would expect.

And at the end of the day, air will improve a wine, but the complex chemistry that needs to happen will take time. It will be faster at higher temperatures, so if you keep your superfancy wine at 55F 'your grandkids might enjoy it before you do', as Parker says.

Ive done more experiments with decanting, and what works best for me is to decant hours ahead, and air as necessary. No big mystery here. The catch is having enough patience and self restrain not to drink all the wine as it sits quietly in a decanter giving you comely eyes.