Decanting wine in a blender
 

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...-09222011.html

Tried it this past weekend and it opened up the wine in such an AMAZING WAY !!

As much as this might be a taboo, you must try it ONCE and see what a difference this can do for the wine.

I did it in front of a wine "snob" and even he was surprised that it worked for the better. In fact, on the second bottle, he did it himself in the blender.

That'll certainly get it aerated in a hurry.

Wonder if this will work with MogenDavid 20/20 and Boon`s Farm :D

The owner of a fairly high-end Napa winery suggested that very technique to me for opening up one of their younger vintages.

It's pretty amazing how any people and stories are taking credit for coming up with this method. This magazine came up with it. That guy from Microsoft came up with it, etc.

The first reference I saw for it was in the spring over on Wine.woot.com (May)

The Modernist Cuisine cookbook (yes, the $625 one) suggests that the most effective way to decant wine is to use a blender. Pour the wine into the blender, turn it on high for 30-60 seconds, wait for the foam to disappear, and serve.

Though I will say many of the people who have commented on it on the various boards have said it worked.

Just like pouring between bottles, taking out a glass and shaking it up, and all the other methods to get the wine in contact with more air.

It probably works very well with older vintages also. The oldest bottle I have is a bottle from 1995...Lets see how it works.

It's a tip I read about years ago (early reference here) and never had much success with. I found my blender always managed to impart a slight metallic taste to the wine ... perhaps it was the cheap blender I had at the time rather than the process. Still, if it's for science then I feel duty bound to try it again :)

60 seconds in a vitamix and you will have hot wine!

I think this is worth investigating further ... say for 2 or 3 nights ;)

The origin of using a decanter in Europe was primarily to reduce sediment.

Full bodied, better red wines stored in caverns were always viewed with a candle behind the bottle first for the same reason. Pouring newly opened wine into a decanter is never rushed for that reason.

The secondary use of a decanter today ( and the point of discussion regarding a blender ) is also to allow the wine to " bloom. " Sans blender allow you to enjoy long conversations over a meal with guests, for an hour or so. The wine gets better over an hour or so, as the meal progresses.

Having seen the film " In Time, " the use of a blender might make sense if one is hurried and constantly out of time. I choose to relax and aerate in a decanter or weinheber. Keep in mind an old saying: No matter how expensive the wine is, an hour in air and it is just as flat as the inexpensive bottle.

Agreed on all points. While I regularly decant wine, I do so by pouring it into a glass from a some height (say 30 inches) and then into another glass. That's it.

IMO, air is the enemy of wine.

Add some fresh fruit and some ice and you can have a Frozen Sangria. You all heard it here first djs invented the Frozen Sangria :cool:

My first thought when I read this was what off flavours would be imparted to the wine though an improperly cleaned blender. :eek: Say the blender was used earlier in the day to make hummus dip or a salmon mousse? ;)

Getting rid of the oils from prior use requires a lot of soaking in hot soapy water and liberal applications of baking soda. & wine picks up flavours quite easily. :p

That's why I'm going to use my hand blender (Cuisinart Smart Stick from Costco). Since I haven't found any real use for it there won't be any flavors to be picked up by the wine. Besides, it's quieter and classier looking than the Margarita machine.

Or, perhaps, serving several (6+) people at once.