When to decant?

[gird123]

I just read vines to wines again and the author mentions a few wines that were only good for 1/2 hour after opening, but I know I have had a Barbara that was much better the next day. My young cheap wines seem to be better decanted and ran though an aireator after about an hour, They have very little smell the next day, still taste ok but not as good. I think i saw a post about decanting for a week. Is there a general rule of thumb? Thoughts?

Most of the stuff I drink does not need to be decanted and a paper cup cost more than the wine inside. I was trying to make more wine for less but now I'm trying to make better wine in smaller quantities.

Nate

 

[davewaz]

You pretty much answered your own question. The bigger the wine, the more time to decant. I typically try to open my big red's an hour before hand, then pour through an aerator, normally enough for it to open up in my opinion. I get nervous leaving a wine over night to aerate, cat's and fruit flies always seem to find it and mess it up somehow... and I really can't taste the difference.