Decanting: Purpose before Procedure

The standard

A purpose-bound transfer determines its purpose before the intervention: oxygen contact or separation from the deposit. The two require opposite movements and therefore exclude one another.

Criteria

  • The purpose is determined before the transfer, not justified afterwards
  • Aeration presupposes a need for oxygen, not age
  • Separating sediment presupposes a formed deposit, not colour
  • The duration of air contact follows the state of the wine, not the shape of the vessel

Distinction

Decanting ≠ aerating: aerating is one of the two possible purposes, not the procedure itself. Decanting ≠ drinking maturity: a purpose-bound transfer changes the state in the glass, not the maturity of the wine.