What wines should be decanted?
Interestingly enough, wines that most require decanting are very young and/or inexpensive red wines, and very old red wines. if the wine is young with high tannin levels, it should be decanted, not so much to remove sediment, but it will need time to aerate and enhance the flavor. Generally, the more tannins a wine has the longer it will need to aerate. Lighter-bodied red wines that have lower tannin levels, will need little if any breathing time. Mature wines, usually eight years and older, benefit the most from decanting. White wines are never decanted, though they do benefit from some amount of air exposure. Open the bottle, pour, and let white wine breath for 20 minutes before drinking. Merely uncorking a bottle of wine and allowing it to sit for a period of time is only a waste of time, as there is not enough surface area at the top of the bottle to permit adequate amounts of air to make contact with the wine. Vintage ports always require decanting. The decanter: The decanter must
