Wine decanter can help separate the wine from any sediment in older vintage wines. Decanters also aerate young wines, allowing them to take in some oxygen to help open up the flavors and aromas. All in all, it’s an essential object for every true wine lover.
We’ve tried and tested more than 15 products (and a lot of wine) before be narrowed down our selection to the 6 best wine decanters. The first feature we considered is capacity. Different wines come in different-sized bottles, so you want a decanter that will hold it all. You should also check out the dimensions since different wines need wider bases than others to help with the decanting and oxygenation. Based on all these considerations, we concluded that our Editor’s Choice, the Menu Winebreather Carafe is the best the market has to offer.
More features: presses onto the top of an opened bottle
The Menu Winebreather Carafe may be the best wine aerator and decanter on the market for a lot of reasons. First of all, it has a great shape, with a wide base to give your wine a large surface area for proper oxygenation. It is also easy to get a good grip on the wine decanter for maximum control as your pouring.
One unique feature of this wine decanter is the interesting aerator located in the top of the spout. Instead of pouring the wine through the aerator, you press it right onto the top of your wine bottle. The rubber seals the two pieces together, so you can flip them both over, pouring the wine directly from the bottle into the decanter. You can even pour it back and forth a few times to increase the aeration.
Not only does this process increase the aeration to help bring out the flavor and the scent of the wine, it allows you to pour the wine back into the bottle or leave it in the decanter for serving, whichever you prefer. The seal also reduces drips and spills if you want to pour any leftover wine back into the bottle at the end of the night.
All of the pieces included are easy to clean with a bit of warm water and a mild soap, though they may take a while to dry.
More features: U-shape design; easy pour slanted spout
If you’re looking for the best decanter for red wine, white wine, or even your favorite cocktails, the Smaier Wine Decanter is a great choice. This piece is made with 100% lead-free glass, so it won’t alter the flavor of your wine or add any harmful chemicals that could make you sick. It also comes with a great low price that will fit into even the most frugal wine drinker’s budget.
This decanter is made from hand-blown glass, with a sleek u-shaped design. This makes it easy to fill, aerating your wine as you pour it. It also has a decent-sized base, so it will help speed up the decanting process, so you can enjoy your wine much sooner. The spout is curved and slanted, reducing drips and spills as you pour the wine.
The shape of this decanter does make it harder to clean, so you may need some flexible brushes if it’s left out too long after the wine is gone. Of course, if you clean it immediately afterward, all you need to do is shake some water and a mild dish detergent around in the decanter for it to resume its crystal-clear appearance.
The Smaier Wine Decanter has a large capacity, so it can hold the contents of a standard 1500 ml bottle of wine. The decanter is thick but lightweight as well, so it won’t be too heavy to pour.
More features: several chambers for double decantation and aeration
Though the price tag on this piece is quite high, the Riedel Boa Decanter has the best shape for a wine decanter for a few reasons. First of all, it looks like a snake, hence the Boa name. This gives the decanter numerous curves, creating chambers for the wine to flow through. As it flows through the chambers, air is introduced repeatedly, double decanting your wine. This intense aeration means you can serve your wine in a fraction of the time you would need for other decanters.
Of course, this isn’t the best way to decant older, more delicate vintages, but for young wines, this brings out their wonderful flavor and scent in less time. The downside of this unique shape is that it is more difficult to clean and it takes quite a while for it to fully dry.
Another great feature the shape of this decanter has going for it is that it has a natural handle at the bottom, near the “tail” of the snake design. This allows you to grip the decanter easily for smooth pouring every time.
The Riedel decanter is hand-made using quality crystal, which is quite durable and heavy, so it won’t shatter at the slightest touch. The decanter has a capacity of 2000 ml, so it could hold the contents of even the largest bottles in your collection with ease.
More features: wide decanter diameter; slanted spout
The best wine decanter shape has a wide bottom to give you the maximum oxygenation possible to enhance the flavor and the aroma of your favorite wines. The Le Chateau Wine Decanter has this perfect shape, with a base that is 8.5 inches at its widest point. This creates a much larger surface area for the best aeration possible.
As well as the wide base, the Le Chateau decanter has a large, slanted spout that makes pouring a breeze. It won’t drip or spill as you pour your wine, keeping everything below your glass clean and reducing wasted wine. The downside to this wide spout is that it may be hard to find a proper stopper for it to keep fruit flies or dust out.
This stylish decanter is made of 100% lead-free crystal, so it looks great and doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals that could alter your wine’s taste or your health. The decanters are hand-blown, though, so there may be some minor imperfections and bubbles in the glass. These may alter the look of the decanter but also gives each piece a bit of character.
Another great feature that this decanter has going for it is the fact that it is the perfect size for a standard bottle of wine. It is also easy to clean by hand washing it with some mild soap and warm water.
More features: comes with a cork ball stopper; tilts on its axis
The Veracity & Verve Hand Blown Glass Wine Decanter is one of the best red wine decanter models around. It is made using hand-blown glass that looks great with any table setting or just sitting alone on your counter. Due to the hand-blown technology, each one is just a bit different from the rest for a more unique look.
This decanter has a unique design, with a wide tilted base that helps to increase kinetic aeration. This shape allows the harsh compounds in your red wine to evaporate, leaving behind the rich flavors you love. The downside of this tilted base is that the decanter can roll a bit when full or a lot when empty, though you can counter this by carefully placing it on your table and holding on to it until you know it is steady.
As well as increasing the aeration of your wine, this design is also stylish, with ergonomic curves to give you the perfect grip when pouring it for yourself and your guests. It also includes a no-drip spout, so you won’t have to worry about any red wine stains on your tablecloths or clothing.
The Veracity & Verve is large enough to hold a standard bottle of your favorite wine. It also includes a handy little cork ball stopper to help keep your wine as fresh as possible as you sip it throughout the evening while keeping dust and insects out.
More features: comes with a crystal glass wine spray funnel and a super fine sediment screen
The Rabbit Super-Aerating Decanter System is more than your typical wine decanter. It includes a few extra pieces to make it one of the best wine aerator decanter models around.
First, there is a metal piece on top that includes a super fine sediment screen. This screen helps to filter out the sediment in your older vintages, removing particles as small as a millimeter.
There is also a crystal glass wine spray funnel beneath the screen. This piece separates the wine into small droplets that go through the holes and spray out to the sides of the decanter. This helps the wine pick up more oxygen, which then enhances the aroma and flavor.
The decanter itself is crystal that’s been hand-blown into an attractive shape. It is a bit thin, so you’ll need to be extra careful with it so it won’t break. The stylish design will fit well with any table setting for any type of occasion. Of course, it isn’t entirely dripless, so you’ll need to be extra careful when using this on your favorite tablecloth.
Cleanup is also pretty easy. Though the decanter should be hand-washed, all of the other pieces that come with it are dishwasher safe. This reduces your clean up time, especially if you like to drink wine quite regularly. The decanter also dries quicker than some other models for added convenience.
Those who enjoy drinking wine know that the right decanter can add some oxygen to your favorite vintage. This helps bring out the natural flavor of the wine as well as its aroma. The best decanter for wine also adds a touch of class to any table setting.
There are a couple of reasons you need a decanter for your wine. The first reason is to separate the wine from the sediment that’s formed. This is mainly needed for vintage ports and older red wines, which produce this type of sediment as they age. As you pour the wine, the sediment can be stirred up, clouding its appearance and giving it a bitter flavor with a gritty texture. Decanting the wine keeps the sediment out of your glass.
Another reason to use a decanter is to aerate the wine. This adds oxygen to the wine as you pour it into the decanter, plus gives it more of a surface area for even more oxygenation. This helps open up the wine, boosting its flavor and aroma. Decanters can speed up the aeration process, allowing you to drink it sooner than if you just left it in the bottle.
If you’re in the market for a new wine decanter, there are a few things you should look for. This ensures you have the best type of wine decanter for your favorite vintages.
Each wine decanter comes with a specific capacity. This tells you the largest bottle size you can pour into the decanter. The smaller sized bottles are the 187.5 Piccolo, the 375 ml Demi, or the 750 ml Standard bottle. Since all of the decanters that we`ve reviewed have a capacity of 750 ml or more, you can use all of them for any of these bottle sizes.
There are larger bottles of wine available, though. The Magnum is 1.5 L, so could be used with the Smaier Wine Decanter, though the Veracity & Verve Hand Blown Glass Wine Decanter will be too small for this bottle. Larger bottles like the 3 L Double Magnum, 4.5 L Jeroboam, or anything larger won`t completely fit into the decanters on our list, so you may need to split the bottles or get a much larger decanter for these extra-large bottles.
There are two main types of materials used to make wine decanters. Crystal decanters are the most durable type, which is why this material is used for the larger, more artistic designs, such as the Riedel Boa Decanter. Glass decanters are a bit more delicate, so they are usually made with thicker walls to increase their lifespan. Their shapes are also much simpler, like the Menu Winebreather Carafe. Standard glass is also better for cleaning in the dishwasher, though it is best to clean both options by hand.
The only dimension that really matters when it comes to wine decanters is the base. This is because the wider the base, the faster the wine will oxygenate. For this reason, the wider bases are better for wines that take a long time to decant.
The wide base on the Le Chateau Wine Decanter would be best for full-bodied red wines that normally take hours to decant. Light-bodied red wines work best in a small or medium-sized chilled decanter. For whites or Rosé wines that don’t actually need decanting, a small chilled decanter is fine.
A wine decanter seems pretty basic but there are a few extras to look for. One is dishwasher safe materials. Though crystal should always be hand-washed, some of the glass models can be placed in the dishwasher for quick and easy cleaning.
Accessories are also handy. A stopper keeps small insect and dust out of the decanter. The Rabbit Super-Aerating Decanter System includes a screen to sift out the sediment, plus it has a wine aerator to help increase the amount of oxygen in the drink as you pour it in. Some decanters even include a lid that allows you to store the wine right in the decanter instead of pouring any leftover wine back into the bottle and placing it back to a wine cooler.
A drip-proof design keeps spills and drips to a minimum. This way, you won’t waste any of the wine as you pour it, plus it keeps your table or tablecloth much cleaner. Some manufacturers offer designs that combine features of a decanter and a dispenser.
If you have a newer bottle of red wine or any white wine, decanting is quite simple to do. This is because there is no sediment to deal with. You simply need to pour the wine slowly into the decanter and then leave it be until it has properly aerated.
Older red wines or some Vintage Port wines do produce some natural sediments as they age, so to keep this sediment from altering the look, flavor, or aroma, follow these steps to keep your wine sediment-free.
If you’re thinking about adding the best wine decanter to your serving dishes, all of the pieces we’ve reviewed here are great options. We do have a few favorites, though.
The Menu Winebreather Carafe is our top choice, due to its durability, its wide base, and the easy-grip shape. The aerator that attaches the bottle to the decanter is also unique and easy to use for pouring and aerating the wine.
Our Budget Pick is the Smaier Wine Decanter. Despite its low price, this one still has great features, including the lead-free glass, the U-shaped design, the large capacity, and the easy-pour spout.
The Riedel Boa Decanter is another great choice. It’s a huge high-end decanter which has several chambers for double decantation and aeration.
