Why you need to taste wine served in a decanter

First off, it just feels better to pour a bottle of three buck chuck out of one glass container into another. It may be what separates the middle class from the slightly middler middle class. But what really makes wine taste better out of a decanter is the aeration softens tannins and allows those sleepy little aromas and flavors to wake up and do a little happy dance on your taste buds.

Decanting your wine is not as simple as dumping a bottle into another. Make sure the bottle you're going to decant has been sitting upright for at least 24 hours. That way all the crusty crust can settle to the bottom. Then open that bad boy and slowly pour the savory spiked grape juice into the decanter at an angle. This avoids the sediment spilling over into your decanter. Leave a little wine leftover in your bottle to avoid dumping the yucky stuff (that's a scientific term) out.

Note that decanting wines is typically best for red wines as whites and sparkling wines don't normally need to be fondled in such a manner. Red wines can take as little as 20 minutes from decanting up to a couple of hours before they reach their full taste potential. The lighter the body, the less time it takes those tiny tasty little good goods to be ready to please your palate. Sometimes a white or rosé can benefit from sloshing around an old decanter, especially if they have a spoiled or sour smell. This can happen when they've gone without oxygen for too long. In these instances, allowing the wine to decant for about 15 minutes can often do the trick.

By now, you probably realized having a wine decanter in your life could set you on a trajectory that there'll be no coming back from. What are you waiting for? Get you a decanter. You will thank us later.