The Ancient History And Function Of The Decanter

February 6th, 2012

You may have seen a wine decanter at one of your friend’s tables while you were visiting for a meal or seen one on the display at the store and wondered what the function is of these lovely glass ornaments. While they are beautiful and fun to have a look at they have got a purpose which goes back to the ancient Roman Days when red wine was the most well-liked libation of the time.

Originally decanters were made of glass which the Roman Empire forged and they served as a practical method of serving wine at the table which was typically kept in huge vessels. The Ancients were first to notice that red wine tasted much better when served from these containers which would later be discovered to be the process of aeration. After the decline of the Romans wine decanters were primarily made from metal such as brass and even gold as the art of glass making was briefly lost. Once the method was rediscovered the glass stopper was introduced in the mid 1700′s to prevent too much exposure to oxygenation after the wine had been completely aerated.
The Twin Point of the Wine Decanter

Wine decanters serve 2 functions in the wine serving process. The 1st and original function was to filter sediment from the wine which was extremely prevalent in the early days of wine making. This is less common today as the wine distilling process has evolved but is still handy on occasion when you get a bottle of wine that was poured off the bottom sediment. Due to the bigger circumference of the wine decanter the weightier sediment has a much easier time settling to the bottom and away from your pour. The other purpose of the wine decanter is to aerate the wine which is the process of introducing oxygen to a younger or heavier wine. Aeration is most typical with heavier wines with lots of tannins like a Malbec or Merlot and isn’t recommended for more fragile wines such as a Pinot Noir.

Wine decanters come in a variety of shapes and sizes and the styles are as unique as much as your inspiration will permit. The most popular styles are cylindricalwine decanters, shaft and plug wine decanters and duck decanters. All decanters are built to hold at minimum a 750ml bottle of wine and typically the wider the decanter then the more volume the wine has to breathe which ends up in quicker aeration.
Fancy Wine Decanter

We advocate that you use your own class and taste to pick a wine decanter. There is not any magical formula and most wine aerators will serve the purpose they’re meant for. As with all things related to wine your private preference is always the most important factor in choosing your decanter.

James Warneck is President and CEO and wine enthusiast at Wine Buff Warehouse, the Internet’s leading seller of wine decanters and wine accessories. For more articles on wine enjoyment and history or to go shopping for your special wino, visit their ecommerce site www.winebuffwarehouse.com