Hand Blown Wine Decanter
$23.99 + $5 shipping
Condition: New
Product:
1 WineCountryConnect HandBlown Wine Decanter
…and thus endeth Gift Week?
same price as last time sold on wine.woot
When are decanter’s appropriate for a certain wine? Any general tips?
Just what I was waiting for… a nice and worthy decanter. Any advice on how to clean it?
I bought this last year.
It works as one would expect, decanting wine. Can hold two bottles, but doesn’t give much surface area with that much liquid in it (almost up to the top of the neck).
Last year one of the frequent posters said that cleaning is best by swishing water around in the bottom of it and letting it air dry, and not to use soap. This method works just dandy for me.
My only complaint is how much cupboard space it takes, due to the shape. This will be common for most decanters though, and cannot be held against this one.
If mine were broken or misplaced, I would be buying another right now.
Where is the glass hand blown at?
[QUOTE=gijose, post:4, topic:259919]
When are decanter’s appropriate for a certain wine? Any general tips?
[/quote]
It depends on a number of factors. I try to go with the winery’s recommendations on aging and decanting. My rule of thumb is let it decant for 30 minutes for each year early the bottle is open (within reason). This is completely unscientific but works with my taste. Your taste may vary. Sometimes wine tastes event better the next day after opening, but generally in the bottle not the decanter.
CellarTracker and a few other sites have user comments about the wines, that would also be a good place to check and see what others have said.
I remember from last year mention of Poland, and I know many hand-blown decanters of this shape (but usually flat on top) are listed in stores as being from Poland.
In other news, I am bored at work just in time to answer questions about this wine.woot
Because it’s a one bottle decanter. They make magnum decanters for two-bottles or magnums.
[QUOTE=gijose, post:4, topic:259919]
When are decanter’s appropriate for a certain wine? Any general tips?
[/quote]
Excellent question! The purposes of a decanter are generally:
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You have a wine that will be consumed before however long it’s going to take to properly open up in the bottle. You probably have booze-hound friends or simply a lot of people and want your wine to be showing at its best when you pour. So, you can move your (probably new, definitely too tight on opening) wine to the decanter which will introduce air to the wine much more rapidly than just leaving it in the bottle. Pouring from the decanter, then, you’ve helped the wine to “breathe” faster, hopefully delivering to you and your guests an improved wine experience over the handy-but-not-always-best “pop and pour” method.
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You have an older bottle of wine (you scoundrel, why didn’t you tell me you were saving this?!) that has formed sediment deposits in the bottle. Properly pouring from the old bottle into the decanter, very gently and with a keen eye, you STOP pouring just before the (bulk of the) sediment comes out into the decanter. This way you and your party can enjoy a lovely, aged wine. Without chunks of precipitate to chew on as well.
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Other uses include:
–Holding your collection of marbles
–Keeping a lovely springtime bouquet in water for long-lasting flower enjoyment
–Pocket change holder
–??
(Also: Hey WD – that sure is a nice decanter!)
[EDIT: Also, these work well for moving wine from a large format bottle into a vessel that can pour to a wine glass easier and more accurately than directly from the bottle. I tried pouring a 6L into a glass once. You really don’t want to try that.
TL;DR - There are lots of uses, they’re great to have, and they look cool even when not in use. This is an awesome price and a great product, proud owner speaking. Go for it!]
I also use uncooked rice with the water while swirling. That tends to get rid of most deposits.
My friend left a decanter out for way too long without rinsing. I ended up having to buy a decanter brush from BevMo to get rid of everything.
Didn’t Gift Week start on Wednesday? So, shouldn’t it be called “Gift Days” rather than Gift Week, if it ends today?
When someone asked WD if this was gift week (Monday, IIRC), he replied, “sorta”.
I think the “sorta” was applied to “week”, not “gift”.
[QUOTE=gijose, post:4, topic:259919]
When are decanter’s appropriate for a certain wine? Any general tips?
[/quote]
Also, usually for red wines and not whites. And the more tannins in the wine, the longer decant time.
Thus, most Petite Sirah could use time in a decanter. But not all, so taste out of the bottle first, before pouring into a decanter.
And I already have two of WD’s decanters (one for backup).
For reference, with the quality posts, click the link for last year’s comments for this decanter.
Yeah, swirling water (no soap) in mine right after use has done a great job of keeping it clean. I also take aluminum foil and put it over the top of the decanter after it has dried to prevent dust from getting in it. Works like a champ.
This decanter is nice and heavy and I love using it.
Now we only need WD to offer up a good drying stand to go with it! That and I think a good funnel/filter would be a good accessory to this accessory. 
[QUOTE=JOATMON, post:12, topic:259919]
I also use uncooked rice with the water while swirling. That tends to get rid of most deposits.
My friend left a decanter out for way too long without rinsing. I ended up having to buy a decanter brush from BevMo to get rid of everything.
[/quote]
After rinsing, I use a Decanter Drying Stand. Target also has a similar one for around $10.
Works great for getting the last drips of water out.
[QUOTE=JOATMON, post:12, topic:259919]
I also use uncooked rice with the water while swirling. That tends to get rid of most deposits.
My friend left a decanter out for way too long without rinsing. I ended up having to buy a decanter brush from BevMo to get rid of everything.
[/quote]
Using uncooked rice is probably a bad idea. Spore forming bacteria can be found in uncooked rice (usually Bacillus cereus) that can cause food poisoning.
Although since you’re pouring alcohol in the decanter, I doubt there would be really that high of a risk of getting anything. It’s mostly a problem when you ingest rice that hasn’t been fully cooked or rice that has been sitting out too long.
For difficult cleaning jobs I fill it with warm to hot water and drop in a few denture cleaning tablets.
I also cover the top with plastic wrap when not in service. Looks tacky on my shelf, but whatever.
I didn’t know about those decanter stands, I need to invest in one of those.