Have you ever wondered why decant a wine?

Decanting is the process of pouring the wine from the bottle into a decanter and then serving the wine from the decanter. The wine is often poured into a decanter very slowly to retain the sediment in the bottle or poured using a fine-meshed sieve, paper coffee filter or cheesecloth.

 

Many wineries stabilise their white and rosé wines, but not their reds. The difference is that red wines are aged on their lees (with the leftover yeast cells from the fermentation). These dregs can leave a tart taste in the mouth if consumed, although they are entirely harmless.

 

Leaving the wine to sit in the decanter also allows it to take on oxygen, being that it has been locked in that bottle for months or possibly years. The oxygenation process also opens up the aromas and flavours.