{"id":23952746,"date":"2025-11-20T11:46:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T10:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/actualites\/non-classifiee\/pourquoi-decanter-un-vin\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T14:01:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T13:01:56","slug":"pourquoi-decanter-un-vin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/actualites\/the-table\/pourquoi-decanter-un-vin\/","title":{"rendered":"Why decant a wine?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<p>Decanting a wine isn&#8217;t just an elegant gesture. It&#8217;s a simple action, but it can change the <strong>tasting<\/strong> experience.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is done for two main reasons: to <strong>separate the sediment<\/strong> and to <strong>aerate the wine<\/strong>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing whether or not to decant a wine is essential, but knowing <a href=\"#comment-decanter\">how to decant a wine<\/a> is just as important!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this video, our colleague Jean-Marc Amez-Droz explains why you should decant a wine, and the essential steps for doing it properly. A clear demonstration you can reproduce at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Decanting or decanting?<\/strong> The two terms are often confused. <strong>Decanting<\/strong> means separating the wine from its sediment by pouring it slowly. <strong>Decanting<\/strong> is simply aerating a young wine to reveal its aromas. The gesture is similar, but the intention is different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You will need :<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A wide-bottomed decanter (for aeration) or a narrow-necked decanter (for decanting)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A light source (candle or lamp) to locate sediments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A little patience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1920\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1080 \/ 1920;\" width=\"1080\" controls=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/video-decanter-vin.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Remove sediment<\/h3>\n\n<p>Some wines, especially aged or unfiltered <strong>reds<\/strong>, form <strong>sediment<\/strong> at the bottom of the bottle. These natural deposits are not dangerous, but they are unpleasant on the palate. <\/p>\n\n<p>By gently decanting the wine into a <strong>carafe<\/strong>, the sediment is left in the bottle. The result is a clearer wine whose <strong>texture<\/strong> will not be altered when tasted. At the same time, the wine is oxygenated. This air supply is beneficial in most cases, but can prove problematic in some. The older the wine, the more fragile it is. Decanting time must therefore be adapted to the type of wine. Wine exposed to air for too long <strong>oxidizes<\/strong>. It loses its <g id=\"gid_3\">aromas<\/g> and <g id=\"gid_4\">freshness<\/g>. An<strong> old<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong> fragile red<strong> wine<\/strong> can collapse in less than 20 minutes.          <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Encourage ventilation<\/h3>\n\n<p>Some young wines have no sediment, but aeration helps their aromas to express themselves fully. In these cases, we speak of &#8220;carafing&#8221; or &#8220;decanting&#8221;. <strong>Aeration<\/strong> allows the wine to breathe. Contact with air helps release <strong>aromas<\/strong> and soften <strong>tannins<\/strong>. It&#8217;s like awakening the wine. Some young, powerful or tannic wines need this. Decanting will improve them.      <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/decanter-vin-blanc-rouge.jpg\" alt=\"Decanting white and red wines\" class=\"wp-image-23952723\"\/><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How long should wine be decanted?<\/h2>\n\n<p>It depends greatly on the wine:  <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An old <strong>red wine<\/strong> is fragile: 15 to 30 minutes are enough. Sometimes it&#8217;s even preferable to decant just before serving. This allows the wine to breathe in the glass, thus avoiding harmful oxidation.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A <strong>young<\/strong>, full-bodied <strong>wine<\/strong> can be decanted for several hours.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>The younger the wine, the more<strong>oxygen<\/strong> it needs. The older it is, the more gently it needs to be treated. The <strong>quality of<\/strong> the <strong>tasting<\/strong> depends on it.  <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can white wines also be decanted?<\/h3>\n\n<p>We often think that only red wines decant. But that&#8217;s not true! <\/p>\n\n<p>Some <strong>rich<\/strong> or mature <strong>white wines<\/strong> also benefit from aeration.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you know if a wine needs to be decanted?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Often,<strong>a young red wine<\/strong> (less than 5 years old) is &#8220;closed&#8221;. This means it needs<g id=\"gid_1\">aeration<\/g> to release its <g id=\"gid_2\">aromas<\/g>. Decanting will help it &#8220;breathe&#8221;.  <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>An old wine<\/strong> (over 10-15 years) often contains <strong>sediment<\/strong>. Here, we gently decant to separate the wine from the sediment, without<strong>oxidizing<\/strong> it too much. <\/p>\n\n<p>For bottles that are less than ten years old and show no sediment, it is advisable to smell and taste the wine. If it is not very expressive, or if it has aromas of reduction (musty smell), it needs<strong>oxygen<\/strong>. Decanting will awaken and refine its <strong>bouquet<\/strong>.    <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In a nutshell:<\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When the wine is young and expressive on opening: no need for aeration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When the tannins cover the wine&#8217;s fruit, or if it smells of reduction (musty odor), we recommend decanting 1 or 2 hours before serving. Decanting will awaken the bouquet and soften the tannins.   <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the wine is old, with deposits, it should be carefully decanted just before serving. Too much oxidation can harm its full expression. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plain or unfiltered wines<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>Plain<\/strong> or <strong>unfiltered<\/strong> <strong>wines<\/strong> generally have reduced deposits and aromas on opening. A short <strong>decanting<\/strong> process removes sediment and &#8220;wakes them up&#8221;. The addition of<strong>oxygen<\/strong> helps them to express themselves fully. It is useful to decant the wine 1 or 2 hours before serving.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Choosing the decanter<\/h2>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/choix-carafe-decanter-vin.jpg\" alt=\"Choosing a decanter to decant a wine?\" class=\"wp-image-23952721\"\/><\/figure>\n\n<p>Decanters come in many shapes and sizes. If you have more than one decanter, the choice depends on the purpose of the decanter. For gentle decanting, without too much aeration, a straight decanter is recommended. If you want to aerate the wine, a decanter with a larger surface area in contact with the air is preferable.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"comment-decanter\">How do you decant a wine properly?<\/h2>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/comment-decanter-vin.png\" alt=\"How to decant a wine?\" class=\"wp-image-23952722\"\/><\/figure>\n\n<p>Old wines often develop sediment. It&#8217;s important to handle the bottle with care to avoid allowing these deposits to build up.   <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Upright for 30 minutes  <\/h3>\n\n<p>When removing the bottle from the cellar, place it upright for at least 30 minutes, without opening it. This allows the sediment to sink to the bottom of the bottle. At the same time, the wine will gradually and gently rise from cellar temperature to serving temperature.    <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. A good light source<\/h3>\n\n<p>For decanting, place a candle or soft light source in the background to better see the clarity of the wine as it passes through the decanter.  <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. A gentle gesture<\/h3>\n\n<p>Slowly transfer the wine from the bottle to the <strong>decanter<\/strong>. Turn the bottle upside down as soon as sediment reaches the neck. <\/p>\n\n<p>Well-mastered decanting transforms a simple tasting into a moment of great emotion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Decanting a wine isn&#8217;t just an elegant gesture. It&#8217;s a simple action, but it can change the tasting experience. This is done for two main reasons: to separate the sediment and to aerate the wine. Knowing whether or not to decant a wine is essential, but knowing how to decant a wine is just as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23952747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-23952746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-table"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23952746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23952746"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23952746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23952827,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23952746\/revisions\/23952827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23952747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23952746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23952746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23952746"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celliers.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=23952746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}