Why do you decant some wines and not others

A.� Most wines do not require decanting, but it's usually done for one of the following reasons: to separate clear wine from the sediment, in the case of rare wines (vintage port, older Bordeaux) that have a large amount of sediment into the bottle; to mix oxygen into an age-worthy wine that has been opened while immature in the hope it will soften its tannic astringency; simply for aesthetics - it will look better in a crystal decanter.

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Q.� Would serious wine drinkers put it into a decanter

A.� Probably not, they are interested in the label, not the decanter.

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Q.� Which wines need decanting

A.� Red wines throw off more sediment and often need decanting more often. You can judge a bottle by examining for possible sediment. Modern wines rarely need decanting, because they are filtered prior to bottling. Vintage wines may frequently show signs of some sediment and these should be decanted.

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Q.� How do you do it

A.� Pour very slowly, taking care not to shake the bottle or put it down too often. Stop when the sediment just begins to flow into the neck of the bottle. You should be left with about half an inch of sedimented wine in the bottle.

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Q.� How important is it to use the right glass when supping wine

A.� Drinking wine in the wrong glass is worse than eating salad with the wrong fork, according to experts. Using a narrow glass for drinking Bordeaux means there is no room to swirl it and allow the bouquet to breathe. As a rule the stem should be long enough to keep your hands from touching the bowl and affecting the wine's temperature.

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By Katharine MacColl