these will make amazing gifts
in for 2
Exactly my thought. I got two. One for diehard vinophiles, and I will check with the Missus on the other one for us or for another couple. Either way I am happy. Great offering!
On the fifth day of Wootmas, WineDavid offered me
Wine Deee-can-ter
Vel-vet Elvis
Wine Truffles
a BlindWine Wine Game
and a Bonsai Juniper Tree
— T
just like cleaning a bong -_-
salt works as substitute for rice, too. but rice’s prob better for wine decanter
Yes, and I just bought one a few days ago (Still waiting for delivery) 
Thanks! Great tip!
Finally got one.
Anyone know if there’s going to be any wine in the woot off?
i prefer these. Swoon is especially nice. Then again, these stores are difficult to come by.
Been looking at the side deal under WDs sig. for a while. Now I simply can’t resist.
First sucker: beauism
Speed to first woot: 0m 10.767s
Last wooter to woot: davidgrahammd
worst advice ever
do not put soap in your decanter
clean it with ice and rough salt swirl
I have a very similar looking generic glass decanter that my GF bought me a while back. Is there any reason to upgrade to one of these? What makes a decanter “good”?
what the hell is a decanter.
how’s the quality compares to Riedel’s decanters?
A good decanter will be made of crystal. “Crystal” is a term used to describe glass which has a very high refractive index, and thus looks the most like diamonds (i.e. is the most sparkly). Traditionally, this is done by adding lead to the glass. Note, however, that adding lead to glass is in general an extraordinary safe thing to do. Lead really doesn’t leech out of the glass according to my father, who is an expert on glass chemistry. Rather, it is likely that this is a marketing stunt.
The various glass houses guard their formulas very jealously, so Tiffany for example, who has developed a relatively high refractive index lead free formula plays up the “lead free” factor. I’ve seen a bunch of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) online about lead leeching into alcohol. Even a study that they probably funded only claims that decanters of very high lead content leech a bit of lead if high proof alcohol (like whiskey) is allowed to sit in it for extended periods of time (like a lot longer than you will be keeping your wine in it). It MIGHT be true though, because orange juice can etch lead crystal over a period of days, causing it to become cloudy.
Lead crystal is much softer, and thus scratches easily. Most fine glass is also more likely to break due to thermal shock, such as when you stick it in the dishwasher. This is so cheap it is probably safe, although there is a possibility one of the glass houses has extra inventory and is dumping it anonymously here (most of what you pay for is the reputation of the maker).
Of course, anyone you buy it for is unlikely to know what “good” glass is. I bought a Tiffany wine decanter for a young lady’s 21st birthday, and she said “What is it?” Bah.
So in an extremely roundabout answer to your question, good glass sparkles because of the high refractive index. It will have a punt (a rough spot that is usually polished down), which is the spot where it was broken off the blow pipe. It will probably be pleasing ascetically due to the skilled design work that went into it. It often “pings” rather than clunks if you flick it lightly with your fingernail. Put it next to glasses from walmart and you will instantly know the difference. Most people don’t notice the difference though.
Does this hold standard size wines or magnums as well?
i’d suggest rice over salt
you can pour a mag in it, but there isn’t much area for it to decant if you do. It fills almost to the brim.
I’ve looked at the one in WD’s signature repeatedly for weeks now, trying to decide whether to buy it. This just made my decision. I’m in for one.
This is the same one in his sig, correct? Reason I ask is because the pic of this one looks different than the other one. This one looks to have a wider base.
Here is a link to wine.woot’s community forum from last year that looks like the same decanter sold through winecountryconnect.com. Since it covers post purchase comments I found it very helpful in deciding to pull the trigger.
http://wine.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=916050&PageIndex=1&ReplyCount=41