What is the purpose of decanting your wine before serving?
First of all, decanting is typically only performed with red wines, but there's no law that says you can't decant a white wine, if you truly wish. According to the Joseph Nase (2011), decanting serves two basic functions:
1. With younger wines, as you pour the wine into your decanter the agitation action causes the wine to mix more completely with oxygen, thereby accelerating the aging process needed to bring out the true character or personality of the individual wine. In this case, you would want to decant the wine at least 20 minutes before drinking.
2. With older, aged wines (5 - 10+years), the decanting process allows your to separate the particulates (solids) which have accumulated during the in-bottle aging process. In this case the pouring should be initiated more slowly and carefully so as to not transfer the particulates from the bottle to the decanter. Because the wine has already been sufficiently aged, you will want to begin drinking the wine immediately after decanting.
Note: Aspiring wine snobs: If you decant all wines, you can not only show off the beauty and grace of the wines, but also that very fancy/expensive Waterford crystal wine decanter you just purchased (not necessarily in that order.)
Proper cleaning of your decanter...
Never wash the decanter with soap and water. Most decanters are not simple cylinder-shaped vessels (see snob note above) and, as such, detergent and water may not always reach and effectively remove the dried rememberances of the prior decantings. Also, never rinse out your decanter with tap water; the chlorine, added to municiple tap water, can leave a residue of unintended and undesireable flavoring which can alter the true taste of the decanted wine.
So, one effective way to clean your decanter is by partially filling it with crushed ice and very coarse salt. Shaking the mixture around inside the decanter is more likely to reach and remove previous decantings. Always rinse with mineral water, or distilled filtered water for optimum results.
