My Obsession - Part 1

Wine Decanters. I vaguely recall how I began to collect them, but it somehow happened.

I “discovered” the benefits of decanting wine about four or so years ago quite by accident, and it was a two-step process. The first time was when I uncorked a bottle of Whitehall Lane Merlot. I was visiting my friend Michael when I opened it, but we decided to go out to grab a bite to eat before sipping the wine. I left it open and we departed. An hour or more later when we returned, I poured the wine and was surprised at the difference! And it had only “aired” in the bottle. But there was more discovery to come!

The real epiphany came a few months after that. I had invited Michael over for dinner and opened up a prized bottle of Vergenoegd Shiraz from South Africa and poured it into the new decanter, my first. I tasted it at that time and wondered what the heck could I have been thinking when I bought this. It tasted like someone had squashed the grapes with dirty feet well laced with fungus. Yuck. But there was still *something* there, so I let it sit on the table while I continued to prepare dinner.

I remember that dinner as if it was yesterday. I had purchased a boneless leg of New Zealand lamb from Costco and let it sit overnight in a melange of garlic, lemon, lemon zest, rosemary and other herbs from my garden, olive oil, and pepper. It was roasted at a high temperature to start, then the temp was lowered to finish. It was a perfect medium-rare, and along with salad, pasta, asparagus, and a dessert (that I don’t remember), it was a beautiful dinner.

I had served everything (including the lusciously tender lamb), and we were chatting away. I poured the Vergenoegd from the decanter into the glasses, and we continued to talk. I warned that it was entirely possible that I may have to open another bottle of wine because the flavor had been so “off” when I tasted it. He nodded and we continued to talk and eat. We tasted the lamb and after a quick “L’Chaim” took a sip of the

wine. And went into instant stunned silence.

The dusty, musty, tastes-like-toe-jam character that the wine had when I first opened it had evolved - three and a half hours later - into something almost otherworldly. Rich, luscious, singing of South African terroir, the wine became almost ethereal. And the only thing I had done was decant it. That was my moment of epiphany. That was also the moment I lost my mind.

Today I own approximately twenty (count ‘em) decanters. They range in size from single-person serving size to large enough to *almost* hold a magnum. The shapes range from the usual smaller top and wide fat bottom (not unlike my own physical characteristics) to several of the “duck” style (which my mother has compared to urinals) to those that don’t fit in any category. The only reason I don’t own more is the usual - budget and space. But I’m trying my best.

I don’t own a Riedel decanter yet. I just can’t quite get up the enthusiasm to pay upwards of $200 or more for a decanter. Let’s call my collection the “Poor Woman’s” Decanter Collection. I wear the badge with pride. It’s made me creative in my ongoing search for decanters. I have found decanters in the usual places - wine shops of course! Vino 100 has a little one that I’m dying to get, and Khoury’s was the source for my “best” decanter. However, my obsession has taken me to lots of other places, including Tuesday Morning where I found a decanter in the vase section. For about eight bucks. Woo Hoo! With that being said, I do own a Spieglau, which I bought at a closeout at Bed Bath and Beyond.

While I will continue to be secretive about my sources for decanters at great bargains (more for me), I will tell you in a later post what I think about decanting and how it’s made such an impact on my wine-drinking life.

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