Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Hello everyone,

I often read here that someone "decanted the wine for a few hours", or " for half a day", or " revisit the wine at the end of the night", how do you keep the wine at the right temperature throughout the tasting, assuming the room temperature is higher than ideal(in my case, room temperature would often be 20-23 C or 68-73 F )? Do you put the decanter in the fridge? Or in an ice bath?

Personally the longest I have decanted a wine is about an hour. Any advice would be appreciated.

Will

I put it in the wine cellar.

I generally don't decant that long. But when I do, I have a small wine fridge that I have removed the racks and converted it for standing up bottles and occasionally decanters.

If you don't have any those options then put the wine outside or near an open window when its cool out works. Or in the warmer months, decanter for a while then put in the fridge for a little before serving. Or vice versa.

You can put a squishy cold pack under the decanter, assuming it's a flat bottomed one.

If you are double decanting, just put the bottle back into the cellar / wine fridge.

I wouldn't overthink this; if you're serving in 60Fs temp wise it'll be fine.

All personal preference, I think. I rarely decant but my rule of thumb is to open the wine and smell it. If it offers no aroma, I leave it open in the cellar for up to 8 hours, checking every so often to see if the aromatics have released. If I open a wine and the aroma is singing, I cork it for later. This is particularly helpful with very old wines and new releases. Here on the Board, many refer to this as the Audouze method for old wines. M. Audouze is quite a legend.

Thanks everyone, great tips. I don't have a cellar at home, but I will try some of the other methods you suggested.