Unless you're a real wine connoisseur, you won't know the difference between a crystal decanter
or a wine aerator and this article will attempt to guide you through the maze of all this wine geek
terminology.
First of all the issue of wine decanting vs wine aerating is a hot one among wine lovers in
various forums all over the world. It is truly a hot debate and one that can spark serious discussions and
controversies that you can usually find only on topics that are close to the heart of the participants.
People who have older wines in their cellars for many years know that there is some heavy
sediment that will develop over time. This deposit at the bottom of the bottle is not very appealing in taste or
looks. This is why decanting wine plays such a major part in the entire wine process from start to finish. Wine
decanting has the role of separating the sediment from the actual alcoholic beverage.
While it is common knowledge that wine need to 'breath' before drinking for the flavor or
bouquet to properly develop, some people say that all you need to do is simply open the bottle of wine a couple of
hours before pouring it. There are, however, those in the known who will tell you that if you truly value wine,
this is by far not enough.
This is when a wine aerator comes into play. An aerator will infuse oxygen into the wine and
this process truly improves the taste of your favorite beverage. Many people argue that the process
of decanting wine does the same,
however to a much lesser degree, since the major purpose of a crystal decanter is to separate the wine from the
sediment. The aerator will improve and bring the aroma of your wine to a truly different level.
The aerator will weave oxygen to the tough wine to spread the wine as far as possible in order
to offer it the strongest possible contact with the air. This will enhance the effect of aeration on the younger
and tannic wines that will get them a better taste and smell when touching the tongue.
If you combine a wine aerator with a crystal decanter you will have the best method at your
hands to make even the toughest wine easy to enjoy within a short time. Wines that have been decanted and aerated
have a much better and profound smell and taste on the tongue compared to those that are simply poured straight
from a wine bottle.
One of the best quality wine aerators today is the Vinturi wine aerator brand. If you want to give wine
aerators a try or you are in a gift or present giving mood, this is the only one that truly deserves the
respect of any real wine connoisseur.
The people who are pro aerators say that there is no longer
need or wine decanting and just by using the aerator you can drink the wine within minutes. This saves you
time at parties so you don't need to worry about putting the wine through a decanting process upfront. The
people who are pro decanters swear that the longer and slower process of wine decanting really opens up the
bouquet of the wine in a way that no aerator can do in such a short period of time.
When all is said and done, I think this is one debate that can not be solved as both sides are
right. Both processes improve the smell and taste of the otherwise stale wine and they both have their own benefits
and drawbacks. One of the reason why I am partial to a wine decanter, particularly to a crystal decanter, is because an aerator cannot decant, or separate the
sediments from the wine, however a decanter can aerate just as well, given enough time.
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