Decanting wine, what does it do? -Episode #18

Gary’s current Twitter status:ON Vacation in Tuks & caicos w/ Lizzie I will be VERY MIA, so you can all start refollowing me ;)LOL! I hope u are all well and c u soon

Decanting wine, what does it do? -Episode #18

March 22, 2006

episode18

2004 Amon Ra Shiraz

Watch as Gary Vaynerchuk demonstrates the value of decanting wines. Also we explore the wonderful wines of the Barrosa Valley (Australia’s “Napa valley”) with Amon Ra. Crafted by Ben Glatzer, Amon Ra stands among the greatest wines in the world.

100 Responses

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about a week ago

Weinwelt
Thank you for that episode! I bought myself a decanter right away.
about 3 weeks ago

ATF
Oh and by the way, I thought the overall episode was fair enough. What he missed in discussion of phenolics and aromatics he made up for in enthusiasm. But dude, you gotta work on that bottle-opening technique; so poor it’s almost laughable!
about 3 weeks ago

ATF
First of all, isn’t it Barossa and not Barrosa Valley? It amazes me how many people love to talk about wine showing off what they know…and what they DON’T know. There are too many uneducated consumers out there as it is….we don’t need any more “fuel to the fire” as it were.
Second of all, reiterating my point above (especially to BrianS), those that should be listened to the most should be the most qualified, referring to the comment made about Mr. Ray, the MS candidate. To those that don’t even know what that means…once again just proving my point. The uneducated call us jerks? study the material, make it your own personal passion, then pay up or shut up. Spend a little time in the “Court” and the “Society” and you will know what I mean.

ATF
CWS
CS (by fall ‘08)
Wine sales rep/future negociant
about a month ago

lawschooldrunk
so, you don’t need to decant an old wine?

is this still your favorite episode?

how long should you decant for? 1 hour? 3? 6? does it depend on the wine?

do you pour it back in the bottle after or leave it in the decanter? if you pour it back, how do you do it without creating bubbles in the bottle?
about 3 months ago

Dale Cruse
This is the episode when Gary starts to relax, go on a rant, and really play to the camera. For that alone, this is a significant moment in the evolution of the show.
about 3 months ago

The Fanjestic
Good episode, and I’ve got to get a smaller decanter that’s easy to clean - the one I have now is a pain in the butt!
about 3 months ago

MtnCharlie
Great episode. Thanks for pointing me to it in episode 392! I will do a decant comparison with some friends (fellow wine geeks).
about 3 months ago

Malcolm McGrath
Noooo - stop telling people about the Amon-Ra :(, you do know how hard that is to get down here on release or nothing!

I’ve started decanting most of my wines now, however I’ve not been leaving some of the bigger ones long enough! The other night I popped an 04 Wolf Blass grey label Cab Sauv - popped and poured into the decanter when i got home from work - had some w/ dinner at 9 and was not very impressed with it as compared to its potential. Left it a while and came back around 3 hours later (midnight) and phwoar it was brilliant.

I have been trapped before - some lighter wines don’t shine when decanted - you need to drink ‘em fresher. (up to an hour decanted - beyond that and they’re falling apart) don’t know what they were other than some random french ones that I added to the collection at some point.
about 3 months ago

Thoughts About Wine And Evaluating It - Episode #392
[…] Decanting wine, what does it do? Episode #18 […]
about 4 months ago

JayH
Please consider opening a bottle of wine with us on Feb 23, 2008. Below is edited text I received from the WSJ.

From: @wsj.com] On Behalf Of WSJ.com Wine
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 5:06 PM
To: Jay
Subject: RE: Planning OTBN in Phila

Dear J,
That’s great! Here is our advancer column from last year and the followup column from the very first year, which will give you a good overall sense of what this is about.
Best,

Dottie and John

Tastings:

WEEKEND JOURNAL

Tastings: Sprucing Up for Wine’s Night — Many Ways to Fete Open That Bottle; Italy Tour, at Home

By Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher

1603 words

26 January 2007

The Wall Street Journal

W4

English

(Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

NEXT MONTH, Loni and Jose Represas will fly from Mexico City to Atlanta with a mission: to help John T. Whaley open a bottle of wine.

It’s not just any bottle. It’s a 1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Champagne that Mr. Whaley’s son, Wyatt, gave him in 1999 when Mr. Whaley was made a captain for United Airlines. Mr. Whaley knows it should be opened. He just can’t stand to do it. So on Saturday, Feb. 24, Mr. and Mrs. Represas and Mr. Whaley and his wife, Nancy, and Wyatt and his wife, Dawn, will grit their teeth and, together, finally pop the cork. It will be Open That Bottle Night 8, when many of us, all over the world, finally open that bottle of wine we’ve been saving forever for a special occasion that never comes.

For OTBN 5, Mr. Whaley, who is now a CPA, opened “the first bottle that got me interested in wine: a 1971 Mirassou Cabernet Sauvignon. To my surprise, it was still drinkable after surviving a divorce move and two moves precipitated by two airline bankruptcies.” In each of the past two years, he opened a bottle of 1976 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon that he’d purchased at the winery many years ago. “The wine was in great condition and received rave reviews from our guests,” recalled Mr. Whaley, who also may open two other cherished bottles next month, long-held gifts from appreciative friends: a 1974 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and a 1983 Dom Perignon.

This is why we invented OTBN, which is celebrated on the last Saturday of February every year. Whether it’s the only bottle in the house or one bottle among thousands, just about all of us have that very special wine that we always mean to open, but never do. On OTBN every year, thousands of bottles all over the world are released from prison and enjoyed. With them come memories of great vacations, long-lost loved ones and bittersweet moments. The whole point of our wine column is that wine is more than the liquid in the bottle. It’s about history, geography, relationships and all of the things that are really important in life.

In Forest Hills, N.Y., Barrie Stern plans to open a 1948 Rioja she found when she was cleaning out her mother’s house. “It was probably a gift from my uncle for a special occasion and never opened,” says Ms. Stern. “Too bad they didn’t have Open That Bottle Night then.” In Lexington, S.C., Mandy Ackerman, celebrating her second OTBN, is deciding whether to open a Sawyer Cabernet or a Freemark Abbey Cabernet with 16 friends. Andrew Rosenthal is planning an event in Philadelphia at a bring-your-own-bottle restaurant with an alumni group from the University of Pennsylvania. The Geneva Golf Club outside of Chicago is celebrating OTBN with a special dinner for 60 to 80. Main course: pork loin with apple-cranberry chutney.

Restaurants are getting into the spirit as well. Some restaurants drop corkage fees for OTBN. Occidental Restaurant in Washington, D.C., is having its OTBN on Feb. 23, the night before the world-wide celebration, as part of its own centennial festivities. It’s planning several different menus (for $130, including tax and tip) to pair with the wines people will bring. The restaurant’s wine guru, Daniel Hennessey, will ask diners what they plan to bring so they can be assigned to tables with appropriate menus. Some distributors have agreed to kick in Champagne and dessert wines. Mr. Hennessey said the $30 corkage fee will go to a charity that helps homeless people.

While OTBN has become a time for parties, large and small, don’t forget that it also is about romance and intimacy. In our case, for instance, we’re going to stay home — and travel to Italy together. Many years ago, long before we wrote about wine, we visited the Piedmont region and, through a series of happy accidents, were virtually adopted for a week by the Cerettos, one of Italy’s legendary winemaking families. When we were leaving, with tears all around, they handed us a signed bottle of grappa, the distilled firewater. We don’t often drink serious alcohol and we had never even tasted grappa, but the next year, on a very cold day, we opened it and we each took a sip. One sip was enough for the whole winter.

“It was a tough landing. All of the tires of the airplane blew out. The pilot did a really fantastic job,” he recalled, adding that he had to drink “a couple Scotches before I could even call home.” So when the Whaleys, whom he had met on a barge trip through Burgundy, told him about OTBN, “I knew this was something I must do. It is a way to commemorate the importance of not leaving this world without enjoying what you have in this world.”
about 4 months ago

Diana L-S
Thanks for the education Gary!

Looking back now I think that could have helped quite a few wines we’ve had. Now I need to get a stock going of wines and then open one up on the weekend in the afternoon and let it breath before dinner.
about 4 months ago

David Crowley
I feel like I should give a resounding “amen” at the end here. Instead, I’ll start decanting tonight’s wine!
about 4 months ago

JD Heinzmann
Wow, gee, that was my first post after lurking here for several months and was shocked by such a vitrolic response. Thank you all for standing up in my defense. It was an honest question. I am an engineer and ameteur scientist, and I really do mean to find out if running wine through a blender is bad for it, and if so, why? If not, would “frapping” a wine when in a pinch open it up? It makes sense… but is there a point that swirling gets too vigorous? Can anybody tell us more about the chemistry of decanting/aerating/frapping? Thanks again for everybody’s support.
about 4 months ago

nicollette
I loved the show! I’m glad I stumbled on the site, will definitely take time to thoroughly check it out.

I do have a question, does the type of decanter matter? I have this style, but will the wine breather well enough with such a narrow neck?
http://www.houseofcrystal.co.uk/images/products/large/decanters/cut_crystal_ships_decanter.jpg
about 4 months ago

Adam Z
you used to be so tame, gary
about 4 months ago

Keith L
Came here after 374. Thanks for the education, I agree that investing time into wine that you have also invested in is important, Will decant from now on
about 4 months ago

Todd Smith
Excellent show. Well demonstrated.
about 4 months ago

crank
Hey everybody, be kind to Brook. She obviously just needs a hug…
about 4 months ago

JoeyB
Good show…just like the others who recently posted, I came here after watching episode 374. I will break out the decanter for Christmas and taste the flavors.

It’s interesting to see the evolution of GV over time…no jets spit bucket, more reserved and calm in the old days. Gary, you’re like a decanting wine…just get better and more flavorful with age.
about 4 months ago

mlong
calm GV. Odd.
about 4 months ago

josh in burgundy
warranted* got all worked up and forgot my spelling skills. Whoops
about 4 months ago

josh in burgundy
Great episode, it is really funny to watch these after the most recent ones. Would like to try a bottle of that shiraz definitely.
Also I’m kind of embarrased now to say that I am studying to be a Somm after Brooks little display. In now way shape or form were comments like that warrented. Who at a dinner table is going to want a disertation on the finer points of decanting. I hope she has better table manners then that.
about 4 months ago

Justin Erickson
Gary - Great episode, I wish I had decanted more wines now.

Brook - Why?

Justin Erickson
Wine Clerk
Canidate Master of reading posts from people who think WAY to highly of themselves.
about 4 months ago

mlong
spell it out candidate brook.
We all want chemistry knowledge.

**falls asleep**
about 4 months ago

Billr
I too am like Brian and came here after episode #374 to check out the decanting episode. I though unlike Brian have never decanted. But, I am going to start with my next bottle of wine.

Great episode….

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