Decanting?

[Thraz]

It's expensive for restaurants to keep decanters, and few diners would want to decant for an hour after ordering wine but before eating. I hear some restaurants do it anyway, but only very high end and I have not been to any. Usually at a restaurant you swirl your wine in the glass for a minute or so (if it's a young wine that needs to breathe). The swirling should be quite firm, i.e. the level of the wine goes up quite a bit along the side of the glass. Therefore, proper wine service should only lead to glasses filled up to a third of the way up or less.

As for decanters, I have seen them in department stores, and certainly your local wine shop would be able to tell you where to get one. They usually look like carafes, but somewhat flatter around the bottom and usually with a stopper.

[This message has been edited by Thraz (edited 07-12-2005).]