Aerator vs Decanter
I dunno if i got the names right.. but well this what I been calling this 2 toys of mine..Being wine drinker... we are obsessed with almost anything wone related.. if not for the fact of space constraint we prob have a wine fridge at home.. hehe
Anyway, this is a very important piece of thing for me at least if not for dear as well.
The aerator
This thing here helps our wine to breathe... giving it more vol... Sometiems whn our wine is store too long.. it gets too old.. got a funny taste.. we did a test between and before and after breathing of the wine.. after we breather it with the aerator, it sure have a diff taste and volume... in fact its much nicer, since then I swear upon this slim tiny thing for my wine...
The porous ceramic like end is the thing doing the trick.. Give the top part a few squeeze, bubbles will emerge from the wine.. like sparkling red wine indeed except there is no real sparkle hehe
And I have bought this as a gift for a few of our friends who love wine.. I hope they make good use of this since this dun come cheap.
This other 'toy' I have, is the decanter.. I rem I got this real cheap from Duka, Norway. Duka is my all time favourite store back then (too bad spore dun have them).. Cos every town have at least 1 duka.. if u go to bigger cities like Stockholm.. they have more than 1 I believe. And thats hw i got it from Oslo.. By jumping in to every Duka.. and this was a real deal...
Decanter
The bottom of this is round... and so u can 'spin' it ard letting the wine move ard exposing to a bit of air in side (sorry for bad description) before u pour it out. But for an inpatient woman like me.. I personaly think it probably takes donkey mins or hours to breathe it compare to the aerator.. that y its still a while elephant.. but i still wish to use it during entertaining friends in future..
I love anythg glass....
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is an article from Straits Time on the 2d sept 2007. whicn I think is really a helpful one.. Long one thou
How to choose a decanter
By Jeremy Oliver
IN THIS fortnightly column, wine commentator Jeremy Oliver sheds light on the wide world of wine. He is the author of the best-selling Australian Wine Annual, and runs his website www.onwine.com.au
What should I look out for when choosing a decanter?
There are two criteria. The first relates to its design, while the second relates to the sort of wine you want to use it for.
To begin with, here are some general tips. Regardless of how expensive or stylish the glass or crystal might be, get a decanter that is easy to clean.
The shape of some decanters makes them virtually impossible to clean. And with wine, cleanliness is not so much a virtue as a prerequisite. You can tell a decanter is clean by the way it smells of absolutely nothing.
As with stemware, decanters should also be made of clear glass or crystal so you can easily see through the wine to check its condition.
Some decanters have rounded lips to pour over and they usually drip. I can't think of many things that are worse than a decanter that drips. So check to see that it has a cut lip that will prevent drips.
As you pour, a well-designed decanter will encourage the wine around its lip to spread out inside like a film. This film of wine should extend all the way inside the decanter, enabling the wine to be powerfully aerated in a very thin layer before it arrives at the bottom of the vessel.
Now, on matching decanters to wine. There are only two kinds of decanters from this perspective: those that provide a large internal surface area, and those taller kinds - similar to wine bottles - that offer a smaller area.
If you're decanting with the specific intent of aerating wine - especially reds that are young - you would need a decanter that provides a large internal surface area. This will enable the wine to continue its process of aeration and gas exchange after the decanting has finished.
But if you have an old and relatively delicate red and your main purpose for decanting is to remove it from its sediment, then a taller, narrower decanter with a small internal surface area would be better since it would help retard any excessive aeration once it is opened.
Most of the time, we decant relatively young reds that need aeration.
One of my favourite decanters for this is Zerruti's very elegant Turn Decanter.
Its ingenious design behaves like a normal ship's decanter when left upright in its stand, but whirls its way around in circles, aerating the wine if put directly on the table.
It's always fun to look at the widening eyes of those who have never seen it before, since they're almost convinced it will wander straight off the table.
posted by karlsfoodie @ 10:49 AM
1001 Thoughts: 0
