Quote:
Originally posted by Solid
5) Using a clean funnel, pour the wine from the decanter back into the bottle. If you need to let the wine breath, leave in decanter for a while before performing this step.
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Several years ago I attended a wine class taught by internationally known wine expert Sherwood Deutsch. He was a strong advocate of using cheese cloth to pour the wine while decanting. He argued that any contact with metal would leave the wine with a slight metallic taste and thereby hinder a full assessment. I suspect a plastic funnel cleaned in only hot water is fine for decanting.
However, decanting does not improve the quality of the wine and thus is not necessary unless you object to small particles floating in your glass. Instead allowing the wine to “breathe” is much more important and failing to do so can dramatically impact the taste. That is the single biggest mistake most folks make in serving “good wine.” Pop that cork anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes prior to serving. If the wine is of poor quality, you will not notice any substantial change between 30 seconds and 45 minutes; however, if it is excellent wine and aged appropriately you will definitely notice a rather dramatic increase in the subtlety and flavor.