Section 7 – Decanting and Aerating Wine
Decanting Wine – Wine decantation is slowly pouring wine from its original bottle into a glass vessel or decanter. It needs to be done without disturbing the sediment at the bottom. While any sediment does not hurt or change the taste of wine, the gritty texture may change the mouthfeel of drinking wine and be undesirable in the minds of many people who do not like gritty tastes in their mouths.
Aeration – As wine is poured, air which is about 20% oxygen, mixes with the wine and hopefully makes the wine taste better. It takes place during decanting but in some instances, aeration is used on its own without concern for disturbing wine sediment. The purpose is just to introduce more oxygen and “improve the taste” of the wine – make it “open up”.