Guidebooks recommend it. Nose-in-the-air sommeliers love it. Friends swear by it. But does decanting a wine really do anything to improve its taste?
The practical origins of decanting are clear -- before winemakers mastered the art of clarification, most bottles of wine had sediment, and the only way to avoid drinking this somewhat gritty, unpleasant residue was to carefully pour off the good wine from the top of the bottle.
The containers into which the wine was poured came to be known as "decanters," and over time these evolved from utilitarian glass jugs into highly ornate table decorations (see www.claretjugs.com for a comprehensive collection of 1835-1920 English decanters). The mechanics of decanting are straightforward. Stand the bottle upright for 24 to 72 hours beforehand to allow any sediment to fall to the bottom. Gently remove the cork and wipe out the lip and inside of the neck with a damp cloth.