Decanting Temperature & Open/Closed Stopper Preference?

[Roy Hersh]

Two Questions in one thread.

1. What do you find is the best temperature to leave your decanter sitting at with Port?

2. While we're asking how you prefer to decant bottles of Port, (of course it is hard to generalize) do you typically stopper the decanter or leave it open and exposed to oxygen?

[Moses Botbol]

60 degrees and I have no preference to stopper on or off, but it's usually on once the port is passed its first round of pouring.

[Todd Pettinger]

Temperature = for VPs, LBVs - whatever the temperature of my basement is, plus say half to one degree Celcius. I think my basement may be just a tad too cool for ideal temps.

Tawny - exactly the temperature of my basement, although many come to room temperature rather rapidly as they are brought up from the cellar and because of this do not remain in that ideal temperature for long.

Once decanted, I do not place a stopper on the Port. Unless I have leftovers and the decanter is being left o the counter overnight, I will stopper it more or less to prevent the odd flying critter that tailgates off of one of us OIT of my nectar! If I place the decanter back into the basement, which I often do if I am drinking VP and there is a goodly amount left over (typically occurs when I am drinking the VP solo), I will always stopper it for the same reason noted above.

[Glenn E.]

I decant VPs at room temp, which is 68-70 degrees in my house. I'm sure that's "too warm" by official standards, but it works for me. I also like to drink VP at about that temp, so the decanting time lets it warm up from the 55 degrees I have my wine fridge set at.

I also leave the decanter unstoppered. The point of decanting is to expose the Port to air, is it not?

I've never decanted a Tawny - the ones I've had all seem to be ready right out of the bottle. I do let the bottle warm up a bit before I open it, though, because even though I prefer tawnies to be cooler than VPs I still like them warmer than my wine fridge.

Warm Port... I'm such a maverick...

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks guys. Interesting reading. I hope others will also chime in, as I really find this an important topic.

[Todd Pettinger]

An addendum that I meant to add to my post regarding decanting Tawny wines...

I do not always decant Tawnies and suspect that I don't have to much due to the fact that the Tawny-style Port is exposed to Oxygen for an extended period of time (while it is sitting in barrel/cask).. why does it need a lot more oxygen???

That is all.

Todd

[JacobH]

I’d never thought of leaving the stopper off the decanter…after all what do you do with it whilst the decanter’s in use? More seriously, I can’t think that it has any appreciable affect on the Port (at least not before the Port should be drunk).

As for temperature, it is literally room temperature, whatever that may be. That tends to be ok in the winter, but in the summer it’s a bit warm, and I keep thinking that I ought to keep it in the cellar (but that puts another flight of stairs between my glass and the wine!).

-Jacob

[Tom Archer]

1) Keep port 'cellar cool' throughout - 15C/60F is fine.

2) Excess aeration is generally undesirable. However, it may be beneficial to leave the stopper out if you have an old wine that is relentlessly fiery; that said, some wines can take two or more days to integrate, so don't be too hasty!

I would advise against using one of the artistic wine decanters that were never designed to have a stopper, and have a wide open neck. There are usually plenty of proper port decanters on eBay, and they often go for peanuts.

Tom

[Derek T.]

I try to keep the decanter as cool as I possibly can. I don't have a cellar so in winter I sit the decanter in the clean half of our garage with a stopper in. In summer I would tend to pour the wine back into the bottle and keep it in the fridge with a t-cork in.

I don't put the stopper in for any reason other than to ensure no bugs go in (garage) and no wine spills out (fridge). I can't really get this notion that a stopper makes a difference to the amount of oxygen absorbed by the liquid as decanter stoppers are never airtight.

Derek

[Andy Velebil]

I prefer my VP's just above cellar temp...so say about 65ish degrees. Now I don't get a thermometer out to check it, but obviously warm Port is just not appealing to me. So if the decanter starts to get a little warm in the summer, I just throw it into the fridge for a few to cool it back down.

As for a top on the decanter, nope. The only time I put the top on a decanter is if I'm outside with it and want to keep any potential critters from stopping by for an unwelcome sip