How to Buy a Wine Decanter

A wine decanter is an elegant way to serve wine. These wine servers are also practical as well as beautiful. It oxygenates the wine, which improves the taste. For older wines, a decanter enables the person pouring the wine to see any sediment in the wine. The pourer can then stop pouring before the sediment reaches the glass.

• Choose a clear glass decanter. While wine is often bottled in colored glass bottles, a decanter needs to be clear so you can spot any sediment. Clear glass also enables the appreciation of the color of the wine, which is one of the criteria for a good wine.


• Examine the spout. The decanter needs a spout that will not spill or splash. Red wine stains from a spill are hard to remove.


• Look at the shape. Pick a wide neck for serving red wine, which needs to breathe or be exposed to air, to reach its best taste. For white wine, which does not need to breathe, a narrow neck is better, as too much oxygen might make the white wine turn acidic. A wide neck decanter with a stopper works well for all types of wines. For red wine, leave the stopper off to allow for oxygenation. Stopper the bottle for white or rose wines.


• Evaluate the ease of cleaning, if the neck is too narrow or the base too wide, you will find the decanter difficult to wash.


• Select the correct size. The whole bottle of wine should fit into the decanter with room left over. If it does not, the wine in the server will oxygenate while that left in the bottle will not, so the two will taste differently.