Decanting Wine and standing up the bottle prior

I just read an article about decanting wine. I am not a scientist but I disagree with standing a bottle up prior to decanting the wine.

I age my wines on the side and carefully decant them in the same position in which they have been stored.

The meniscus (sp.) of the wine is what disrupts the sediment and brings it into the rest of the solution.

If I stand the wine bottle up then let the sediment settle onto the bottom of the bottle then when I pour the wine from the bottle, at about half-way through the sediment is disrupted by the edge of the wine and starts to get into my clear fluid.

If I keep the bottle in the original position, I am at least more than half-way through pouring the wine into another container before the edge of the wine has become disturbed by the edge of the wine in the bottle.

In addition, much of the sediment has remained attached to the inside of the glass instead of being sent to the bottom of the bottle when the bottle is placed upright.

It is just plain physics!

I agree with your logic, and do the same as you.

I don't follow your logic. I also store my long term aging bottles on their side with the label up. However, one has to stand the bottle upright to pull the cork. Most of the sediment adheres to the inside of the bottle, and what does not, settles down in a small area below that, nestled in the punt. So what you're really saying is "Does it make a difference if you place the bottle upright just prior to pulling the cork vs a day ahead?" I'd rather stand it upright a day or two ahead of time.

Isn't that the purpose of the wine basket: you take your wine from the horizonatal position in your cellar, place in basket and extract cork there.


There was a fashion in restaurants some years ago to serve wine in those baskets. All very well if you hadn't seen the waiter swinging the bottle and waving about as he extracted the cork before reverently placing it in the basket for pouring...

[David M. Bueker]

Stand it up and have a very fine mesh filter available for the last 1/3 of the bottle. Works great for me.

Welcome to the forum, Kevin - interesting topic. Like Howie, I store bottles near vertical, label side up and pour label side up. I do stand the bottle up to open it and that, I think, is where the meniscus that you mentioned comes into play. Moving the bottle from near horizontal to upright results in very little meniscus movement, so very little sediment is disturbed, if any at all. I am unaware of any effective method to open a bottle other than upright, wine basket or not.
Like David, I do have a funnel with a fine stainless steel filter that's also pretty effective, especially when the recent history of the bottle is suspect, as when a friend brings one over.

I think probably in the best of all possible worlds the spacious cellar is next door to the dining room, equipped with a decanting table with cradle.

That however, is not my world. Bottles are stored horizontally, I typically try to stand up for a week if possible. I then try to bring carefully upstairs, and let rest for a bit before decanting. I stop when I see significant sediment (not isolated small flecks) usually after 3/4s of the bottle. I use a filter on that (separately).

I am unaware of any effective method to open a bottle other than upright, wine basket or not.

the cradles/baskets hold bottle at about a 30 degree angle, generally enough that headspace means no leakage

Thanks Dale for the explanation.

My experience has shown that no "stand-up" is necessary, though I can't see how it could hurt. I am decanting into Pyrex, catching the heavy sediment in the last 1/2 ounce of wine, and getting the fine sediment as it is poured back into the bottle ( the last 1/2 ounce again). In the meantime I have rinsed the heavy sediment from the bottle and stood up to dry. All the wine, even the very last drop is clean and clear. Since most wine will benefit from a decant I can't see why you wouldn't do it this way? But, to each his own.

OK, as there is a bit of discussion about opening "horizontal" bottles, here is what I do in detail.

I transfer bottle horizontally very carefully from fridge, and put into a heavy pyrex bowl that holds the bottle at a near horizontal angle - just clearing the wine from the cork. The bowl plus one hand holds the bottle firm enough to remove the cork with a waiter's friend, which I do immediately after placing in the bowl. I guess it would not work with other types of corkscrew.

I haven't compared sediment behaviour with the "standing up" method, but can confirm that mine works well, and saves a lot of forward planning compared with most suggestions for standing up times I have seen.

The planning ahead doesn't really bother me, I typically plan on when I'm going to open my best older bottles. I'm the most concerned with 20-50 year old bottles of aromatic reds, such as Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir. I try not to open those without advance planning. They often need an Ah-So, I think I'd be challenged to use that on an angle. Somehow a little suspended fine sediment in a Bordeaux/Cab doesn't tend to bother me. If I get the impulse to open a 30 year old Haut Medoc, I just set up for 15-30 minutes. It's enough time for the larger sediment (and most of the fine) to go to bottom (well, most stays on side). I use a filter on the last part.

Slightly OT, but I'd also remind folks it's not a bad idea with any bottle before 90s to remove capsule (which might be lead) and wipe well with a damp cloth or paper towel.