..for your enjoyment from helmut's diaries...

"When to decant..."

In most restaurants  it takes a reason before one would want to transfer the wine from its own bottle into a carafe or decanter. But there are some restaurants where every red wine gets automatically decanted before being poured.

WHEN TO DECANT ?
    I decant wine only on the request of a guest. However, I do recommend such procedure -- to separate sediments from the wine to be consumed  -- for almost all older red wines (10 plus years). Sometimes I do decant red wine for the reason that this particular wine has to breathe. However I always recommend to decant wine if there are impurities which otherwise could greatly interfere with the enjoyment of a good bottle of wine, like cork pieces floating inside a bottle.

    To decant means: To pour off from the edge of a wine bottle, so as not to disturb  the sediment. In most restaurants  it takes a reason before one would want to transfer the wine from its own bottle into a carafe or decanter. But there are some restaurants where every red wine gets automatically decanted before being poured. If this is the house policy, fine, never argue a restaurant owner's policy.

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