Are you in the team Carafe or team Decanter?

There are a lot of wine tools, glasses, and bottle openers, … among them you have wine carafes. I made this post to let you understand how and why and which should be put in a carafe, so, let’s see how to use a carafe. The first question you ask is, what is the purpose of a carafe? It is not only about aesthetics, some carafes are very beautiful and look good on a table, but the role of a carafe is not there. You use a carafe to pursue two different and opposite goals. Either you use it to aerate the wine, bring oxygen to the wine, or decant the wine, which means to break down the particles, of a wine.

For these two objectives, you will have two different types of carafes. As you can see on the photo on the left, a carafe with a very flared shape, making cleaning challenging and the other one has a narrower shape and is more esthetic. Having two shapes is no coincidence, each has a specific function.

The purpose of the carafe with a flared form is to ventilate the wine and to offer a large surface to the oxygen present in the air. This oxidation will “open” the wine, it makes aromas more expressive. For red wine (and some orange wines) it can also soften tannins to lower the harshness of a young wine. So if you have a good white wine that does not express its aromas or a harsh young red wine (Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux,), this carafe is the solution. But, careful, not all wine should be put in this kind of carafe. Sparkling wine is an example, and it’s the same for dessert wines. For other wines, you should taste the wine. You don’t want to spend time with a corked wine, and you need to determine if the wine needs to be put in a carafe. If it expresses all its bouquets. You can use a carafe for white wine, if they are less than 8-10 years old, older wines should be already open, and if not opening the bottle 20 minutes before serving should be enough. But you should take care of the wine temperature. No more than 45 minutes to one hour (depending on the room temperature). For young red wines (less than 5-8 years old) rich in alcohol and tannins you can wait up to 3 hours depending on the taste. After 8 years, the time should have already softened the tannins in the wine, but if the tannins are still too harsh, they can be put in a carafe for less than one hour. There is also a situation where a wine should be put in a carafe. It is when there is a light default. I am not talking about corked or oxidized wines, the only place for wines with this major default is the sink. Minor defaults include the farm or barn nose sometimes found in Natural wine. It doesn’t alter the taste, but it can be removed by pouring the wine into a carafe. Another default where a carafe is useful is reduction. When a wine did not have enough contact with oxygen during the winemaking phase so it is not fully open. The wine can taste like onions or rotten meat. Pouring the wine in a carafe will correct that. You can find a ventilation carafe in many places from 20 to 200 euro. The most important is to have a very flared shape to maximize the contact with the air. And about older wines, these 8 years and more old wines, do you need to pour them in a ventilation carafe? Simply no, don’t do that. They are fragile and delicate, and the aging has already softened tannins and opened all the aroma. You should know, old wines are like old ladies, will you put your grandmother on a roller coaster? These wines were kept in a lying position in a cave, and the aging process created some small particles. These particles are deposited on the side of the bottle. When you serve the wine, particles will mix with the wine and it is not a good experience. To avoid that we need the second carafe with a narrower shape, the decanter. To pour wine into the carafe, traditionally you should use a candle behind the carafe and gently pour the wine in the carafe (the candle is optional), then close it with the plug to avoid too much contact with oxygen, and wait between 30 minutes to one hour to let particles to come down. Then you can put the carafe on the table (that is why they are more beautiful than ventilation wine)

So, now you get it, the fat bottom carafe goes with young wines and the thinner one goes with the older ones.