Decanting is the simple process of transferring wine from the bottle to another vessel – the decanter. There is plenty of conjecture within the wine community on which decanters work best and indeed how beneficial the process is at all, but the consensus is that pretty much any bottle of wine can be improved upon, at least a little bit, with the process of decanting.

Wine decanters are used principally for two reasons. First of all, when done as slowly and carefully as required, decanting allows wine to separate from its sediment, thus making it smoother to the palette. This is particularly important, as you might think, with older wine that has been sitting for a number of years and allowed the sediment to build up. Sediment left with the wine can make the taste bitter, astringent and musty.

Secondly, using a decanter allows that all-important oxygen to make its way into the wine. As with various points of the tasting process, the infusion of extra oxygen allows flavours to be opened and reach their full potential – and faster too.

The process of decanting is very easy indeed if you are using a younger wine with no sediment. It is simply a case of pouring the wine gently into the decanter, waiting for about 20 minutes, then serving. An older wine with sediment needs a little more work. Firstly, this needs to be decanted pretty much immediately before serving, as too much oxygen can make it go bad. Invariably, you’ll need a wine cradle in this case too, a contraption that has its own ways and methods. If you have a few days to plan in advance, ensure the wine is upright for a long time, allowing the sediment to gather at the bottom of the bottle.

One should remember that a perfect decanter helps to coax a fine wine into revealing all those hidden secrets. Good decanters and good wine glasses combine to enable the full appreciation of a wine’s colour, aromas and flavours.

Sound design is the key to success – the ability of the decanter to allow maximum exposure to oxygen slowly oxidises the wine, allowing for a softening of tannins and release of any off-odours that are exhibited immediately after opening the bottle. As mentioned, older wines will of course oxidise faster and younger wines require more time to ‘open up’.

A filter or strainer can also assist in removal of fine sediment in older red wine allowing for every drop to be enjoyed.