Decanting Supplies

Hi all,

I’m starting to work on my list for Santa and as this year is my first year really drinking wines that need a decant, it’s time to make some upgrades.

I have a standard decanter, and that’s it. What do you all recommend for funnels? Do I need the aerator funnel or does a regular one do the job? What is the best decanter that is in the sub $75 range? Anyone have this onehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AVTQ1D4?tag=dotdashliquor-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=4842118%7Cnf875882be1e14159bff2c2debba10bcb22? And is there anything else I need??

Thanks

That wine decanter is fine. If you are like many of us, we are not buying a piece of art. We are buying something utilitarian and the Le Chateau will do the job. I can’t find the wine funnel with strainer that I use most often but I also have one of these and it works fine. It does not aerate but frankly what little aeration a funnel would do is inconsequential. Aeration is what the decanter is for. Whatever you buy, make certain that the tube below the funnel is a longer one like this one. Norpro Stainless Steel Funnel with Strainer. Some tubes are too short and when used with bottles with long necks, wine can back up in the neck and overflow especially if you are pouring too much too quickly. Also don’t get a funnel with a large diameter tube. I have seen several that were too large to fit into some of the more narrow necked bottles. Personally, I find a funnel with a strainer to be better than one without. I can empty the bottle without worrying about sediment getting into the decanter. Other than a decanter, a funnel, and a Durand you don’t need anything else except wine glasses that is.

Decanters are all pretty much the same, be it expensive or cheap. A $200+ decanter isn’t really any better than a $50 one. All that really matters is how much surface area there is to expose the wine to. The more surface area you expose a wine to, the quicker a wine aerates.

The decanted you pointed out is fine and will do the job great. Personally, I’m partial to this type of decanter. It’s a smaller footprint, which I find helpful and the smaller surface area allows me to open up both younger wines that need a lot of air, and older wines that are more delicate.

As for funnels, you don’t really need them, you can just pour the wine directly into the decanter by being careful, but if you feel more comfortable with a funnel, any funnel will do. If you want a dedicated wine funnel something like this with a mesh to help catch some of the sediment a wine might throw may be useful.

I would recommend getting two things for any decanter though. Some cleaning beads that help you remove any pesky stains inside the decanter and a drying stand, I like the folding kind. You can get both in sets like this

Do note that I just linked the first example I could find for each item I listed. You can likely find cheaper alternatives to all the things I listed.

Perfect, thanks guys!

The Riedel decanter similar to that suggested by Rodrigo can also be found very inexpensively ($20) if you look around a bit.

I think the $20 Riedel decanter is a different line, but equally serviceable (I have four of them and one of the decanter Rodrigo posted). Target used to sell them, but I think Riedel changed the shape to not cannibalize sales of the more expensive line. The new shape is equally serviceable, and I may have one of those.

I’m not a fan of the flat-bottomed captain’s decanter, because they are awkward to pour. I think you’d have to leave the wine in the decanter for quite a long time for the oxygen exchange from the greater surface area to exceed the oxygenation during the actual decanting. The turbulence during decanting is a lot more effective than the relatively slow diffusion from a still surface.

But, I’m also in the camp that decants more for sediment rather than for introducing oxygen. I’ve sometimes also splash decanted for a wine with excess CO2. Very old Baroli appear to be different, but I don’t think oxygen is the important factor.

-Al

Noted, Al. I didn’t actually mean to say that it was the exact same decanter but a Riedel decanter in a style similar to that recommended. I don’t actually pay much attention to the different lines in the decanters because other than the basic shape I don’t actually find much aesthetic or functional difference between the decanters in the various lines (as opposed to glassware where minor differences make a big difference in usage).

Agreed, I have trouble seeing the difference and they are functionally and aesthetically equivalent for the most part (which is why I bought four of the cheaper line).

-Al