Modern decanters

Any container, a simple jug for example, can be used as a vessel for wine, so long as it is made of an inert material and can hold at least the contents of a bottle while, ideally, leaving a considerable surface area in contact with air. Some decanters, notably one designed in the late 1980s by the Ch latour management, are shaped so that a bottle exactly fills them to their maximum width, thereby maximizing the potential for aeration. Some decanters are designed specifically for magnums, or double-sized bottles. Others have handles, all manner of different shapes, engravings, shadings, and designs, including one to ensure circulation with a semi-spherical base that cannot be laid to rest other than in a special cradle by the host’s elbow (see passing the port). Wine need not be served from clear glass, or even glass at all, but most wine’s colour (whites as much as reds) can give great aesthetic and anticipatory pleasure.