A wine decanter is not just a piece of decorative glass for your wine but actually serves an important function in wine pouring. Of course you can always incorporate an aesthetic to your wine decanter, but this is one of the things where functionality comes before form. Over time wine can develop sediment, especially red wine. When you decant your wine you are doing two things. One you are helping to open the wine and expose the aromas better and two, you are straining the sediment from the wine so that you are not drinking the crystallized proteins. You should try to avoid pouring the sediment into the decanter. As that is not always possible, some come with a protective sieve to place between the bottle and wine decanter.

Wine decanters come in all shapes and sizes and forms of various glasses and metals, but all you need is one with a wide base and an elongated neck with a mouth open enough to let the wine breath. A doughnut decanter has become popular. Its base is round with a hole in the middle and the wine fills the "doughnut" area. This shape actually lets the wine breath better than your typical red wine decanters like I described above.  Another newer design that has caught on is the Duck design. It's in the shape of a gravy boat more or less but with the long neck. The design allows the wine the widest area for breathing as possible.

The simple answer to this is that decanters for wine allow oxygenation. This is simply exposure to the air. What this does is it lets the wine open up since it's been stagnating in the bottle for awhile. Oxygenation helps the aromas of the wine come out so that you can get as much flavor from the wine as possible. It also helps tame a young red wine with high tannins. While white wine can benefit from some oxygenation to a degree, decanting is more for red wine. If you pour a young red wine and let is splash into the decanter, the splashing helps break down the tannins. After that you can let the wine decant for about an hour and it will drink softer than if you poured a glass right away.

There are many styles of decanters you can purchase. A crystal wine decanter is probably the most expensive, but you can find some fairly modest pricing in Riedel wine decanters. The benefit of crystal is that it allows clear viewing of the wine so you can see any sediment that escaped from the bottle. You can find a wine decanter set that includes a wine decanter dryer which helps you completely clean your decanter after washing it. One thing to note here is that when cleaning it you should only use mineral water or hot tap water. Wine may build up in the decanter but it comes away very easy with a little hot water. Place your dryer inside and allow to air dry. The dryer cloth will absorb all the moisture and any crystals that remain. Another tool in the set is the wine decanter funnel. This allows you to safely pour wine with sediment. It often has a little sieve that fits inside it just for a wine with sediment. You'll have to check to see if this gear is included with your purchase or not. Most of the time, you have to buy them separately. Crystal wine decanters may have a set included, but expect to pay around $300 or more for one of these with those items included.  You can expect a lot more from a wine if you take the time to decant it properly. This is especially true for younger wines. Take the opportunity to improve your wine experience and purchase a wine decanter for your home.

Learn how to properly decant wine with the following wine decanter video.