Decanters and carafes not only look the part in your home, but they make a practical and elegant way to serve and store wines and spirits. By decanting the wine and allowing it to breathe, it releases some of the wine’s aromas adding to the experience. Our collection of decanters and carafes offer an array of shapes, sizes, and designs to suit your style. They are also a favorite gift idea that can be made even more special by having the item engraved with a special message.

What is the difference between a wine decanter and carafe?

Wine Decanter

The main function of the wine decanter is to store and serve wine, they allow wine to breathe. Providing a sufficient spaced area where the wine can sit and enjoy a large surface area exposed to the air is vital to the wines oxygenating process. Decanters have an important role to play when being used for Red Wine.

Sediment and crumbled cork can often be found (usually in older vintages) in red wines, so pouring into a decanter can help by filtering and removing any sediment and underlying bitter tastes and flavors that are associated with aged wines.

Carafe

Traditionally a carafe is more of a just a ‘vessel’ that holds liquid, normally water, wine, fruit juice or alcoholic beverages. Nowadays, carafes are more likely to be used for serving water and juices where the shape of the container doesn’t affect the characteristics and the taste of the liquid that it’s holding. These tend to be more ‘showy’ and decorative pieces for the table setting to make it appear more elegant.

What is the difference between a wine decanter and carafe?

To conclude, the differences between these two serving vessels is tradition, shape, and style! Decanters are used for serving win more so than carafes, which tend to be used for serving other liquids such as water, juices and other such beverages. The shape also differs, carafes have are long and straight compared to decanters which are traditionally bowl-shaped with a tapered neck.

How to choose a wine decanter and carafe?

  • Full-bodied Red Wines(Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Tannat, Monastrell, Tempranillo, etc): Use a decanter with a wide base.
  • Medium-bodied Red Wines(Merlot, Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto, etc): medium-sized decanter
  • Light-bodied Red Wines(Pinot Noir, Beaujolais): serve in a small to medium-sized decanter that’s been chilled.
  • White and Rosé Wines: decanting isn’t necessary, although you can use a small chilled decanter.

How to Use a Decanter

How long to decant wine decanting takes anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours and the average time is about 40 minutes. Here are a few examples:

  • Full-bodied wines: These wines take the longest, expect about 1–2 hours
  • Cheap wines: Cheap wines often need rigorous oxygen to cause oxygen to improve the aromas. You can do this by pouring a small amount into the decanter, and then re-corking the bottle and shaking it before you pour the rest into the decanter. Wait about 20 minutes.
  • Old red wines: Depending on the style, most will take about 2 hours

There are no products to list in this category.

Continue