Which is the best Wine Decanter for every day

And no I’m not recommending the decanter above – the Strange Decanter by Etienne Meneau.   This might make a great display but for design purposes only….

I said every day, and pretty much every wine.  There are two reasons for decanting wine;  the first is to separate an older red wine from the sediment that will most likely have accumulated in the bottle, and the second is to allow more oxygen into the wine, which allows the flavours to open up. 

There are so many decanters to choose from, from complicated carafes to glass shapes that are very hard to clean, such as Riedel’s Amadeo Crystal Glass Decanter, one of which I have used many times and washed so carefully, always afraid I might break it.

I firmly believe that your decanter should be of clear glass, so that you can see and enjoy the clarity and colour of the wine.  You’ll find decanters and carafes of coloured and speckled glass and stainless steel, which may do for a young wine decanted for the purposes of aeration, but not for an older wine.  Then there are beautiful cut glass decanters, both modern and antique, but I’m going for something simple as these can be quite heavy and it’s about the decanter rather than the wine.



For every day then I prefer something that looks good, complements the wine and doesn’t break the bank.  There are two shapes I prefer, the wide base decanter, or ‘ship’s’ decanter, and a modern basic carafe.  Again with these two you have many different price levels, so here are some that will do the business at a reasonable price.  Vine Folly says that the wide based decanter is better for full bodied wines, as it allows more oxygen to the wine, and the medium sized decanter is better for medium bodied red wines.

If I can pick only one, it will be Riedel’s medium sized decanter for its price, clarity and quality.  I've also just discovered Schott Zweisel's decanter.  This is a more weighty decanter but it's on offer at the moment so I would snap it up if I were you.