The Wine Steward

Decanting or Aerating?

When it comes to wine, there is some confusion over the terms decanting, too often used unwisely, and aerating (or breathing). Adding to this confusion is the French verb carafer, which describes the specific act of transferring wine from the bottle into a carafe.

Decanting describes the action of clearing a liquid of impurities. The objective is to serve a limpid wine without sediment, a delicate action which requires a certain deftness of execution. Red wines that have aged a dozen years or so often show the passage of time with an accumulation of small solid particles at the bottom. It is precisely this sediment that we seek to separate from the wine.

Sedimentation is not found in less mature wines. Yet, aerating is required in order to sublimate many of the younger wines. Think of structured, tannic, rich, concentrated red wines, or imagine woodsy, lush, opulent or sweet white wines. Sadly, these wines often reach their peak at the end of the meal, having benefited from greater oxygenation in the glass… This is when a moment of disappointment occurs as you hear the sigh of resignation: "Had I known, I could have let it breathe properly beforehand." Essential to the wine tasting experience, aerating-or allowing the wine to breathe-implies transferring the wine into a carafe, sometimes hours before serving, in order to give it oxygen. The wine then has the opportunity to reveal its bouquet, its suppleness and all of its more flattering qualities. Some wine steward equipment, such as an aerating funnel, accelerate the process, forcing the wine into contact with as much air as possible in minimal amount of time.

As for the action of carafer a wine, the notion deals more with aesthetics than with true necessity. Indeed, what is more pleasing to the eye than serving wine in a beautiful carafe, even if only to admire the beauty of its colour? This is no longer a question of clearing the wine from sediments or aerating it to provide oxygen. It has become a question of style.

In light of these differences, it would be pure heresy to claim to have used an aerating funnel to decant a bottle of wine in order to enjoy its colour.

Olivier Merotto
Spécialiste des produits du vin
Després Laporte