Let it breathe: Wine decanters

A decanter is a lovely and necessary item in a wine lover’s collection.Pouring wine from the bottle into a decanter introduces oxygen, which allows the wine to breathe. Allowing the wine’s aromas and flavors to fully express themselves before drinking.Decanting is especially beneficial for older red wines, and other wines can also benefit.Light-bodied red wines& decant around 20 minutes, 40 minutes for medium-bodied, and full-bodied red wines can& decant for an hour.& Older white wines decant for 15-20 minutes at the most.& However, too much oxygen can ruin a good wine, limit the leftover’s exposure to air.Younger wines generally don’t require decanting and won’t taste noticeably different.Separating sedimentDecanting removes sediment which is helpful for red wines. Sediment can build up in the bottle over time, and decanting can also remove broken cork pieces. Use a candle to hold at the neck of the bottle to see when the sediment is close to coming out of the bottle and stop pouring.There are many styles of decanters, price points, and manufactures.I prefer a simple hand-blown decanter with a large flat bottom.These are also easier to fit into the refrigerator for storing leftover wine.What are decanter beads?Decanter cleaning beads are small metal balls...