How To Decant Wine Without A Decanter?

A decanter is a beautiful piece of artwork made of glass to hold wine amidst the decanting process. These decanters usually markup in price anywhere about $50 and are typically sold for wine enthusiasts. Don’t want to spend money on a simple decanter? That’s okay. There are many household items you can find in your kitchen that may work just as well as a decanter. 

Items such as a clean floral vase, a lemonade pitcher, a large mixing bowl, or even a mason jar can mimic a decanter just as well. The entire decanting process remains the same. Slowly pour the wine into the vessel, achieving the goal of not disturbing the sediments at the bottom of the bottle.

Can you use anything to decant wine?

Yes, any glass container would be the best option for decanting wine. It’s also recommended to ‘double decant.’ This is a process that simply follows the original decanting. It entails decanting the wine from the decanter (or decanting object of choice) back into the thoroughly washed wine bottle. 

Remember, when using household objects to decant, it’s important that they be cleaned properly. This relates to all wine decanter owners as well. Wine enthusiasts know to use the same product that most alcohol vendors use when cleaning their glassware, a restaurant crystal glass cleaner. Ironically enough, there’s a variety of tools you can use along with the glass cleaner specifically made for keeping a decanter clean. Once again, if you aren’t interested in purchasing a fancy decanter and special soaps and cleaners to pair, then a simple fragrance-free soap will do the trick.

Can you decant wine in the bottle?

Yes, you can use the wine bottle as a decanter by using the ‘double decanting’ process. First, slowly decant your wine into another container from the wine bottle. This will separate your wine from the sediments at the bottom of the original bottle. After that, wash your wine bottle thoroughly. Be sure to remove all the leftover sediments from the bottle. Then slowly pour your wine from your decanting container of choice back into the original cleaned wine bottle. Using a funnel is useful during this step. This is how you separate the wine from any leftover sediments. 

This process will also allow your wine to breathe in the first decanting container. At the same time, you can rinse out the sediments in the original wine bottle. Breathing allows for the wine to achieve preferred aromas and notes in the taste.

How do you decant a natural wine?

A bottle of natural wine has deemed its title from how it is made. Winemakers use old-fashioned techniques when curating the wine. This means that a natural wine usually contains no additives. It also lets you know that the ingredients are produced without the use of pesticides and herbicides.

Decanting natural wine is pretty simple and relates a lot to decanting a regular wine. Before opening the bottle, it’s important to make sure you sit the wine bottle upright. Doing this allows any sediment towards the top of the bottle to flow to the bottom for settling. After a few hours, open the bottle and begin the basic decanting process. 

How do you decant wine quickly?

Hyper Decanting is a seemingly controversial method used to decant wine rather quickly by oxygenating the wine. However, the process is rather simple and can be done using a traditional kitchen blender. Simply pour your desired wine into the blender, and blend on the high power setting for 30-60 seconds. 

Yes, seconds. Although, it’s recommended to blend the wine in 15-second intervals four different times to recognize a difference in the presentation, aroma, and taste. After 15 seconds, try the wine to understand how oxygenating it will change your classic red into something unrecognizable. 

Summary

Decanting wine can be done without a fancy decanter. Any household container can be used to decant wine. However, it’s important to note that using glass or transparent vessels is a must. This is because when achieving your decanting process, it’s important to watch your wine flow for any signs of sediments. 

If you end up with some sediments in your already decanted wine, you can simply use the double decanting method. Natural wines use the same decanting process as any other. If you are running short on time, you can use the hyper decanting process (which takes just minutes to achieve a decanted wine).