with decanting

Making wine an experience

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Decanting to wow your guests

Dining out is a cherished experience that can mark just about any occasion. However, whether it's a romantic evening, a business celebration, or just a casual gathering, one ever-constant is the desire to have a good time.

For a hospitality professional, the goal is simple: provide an enjoyable, memorable experience for guests that keeps them returning for more. One way to do this is by elevating your guests' wine-drinking experience through the use of wine decanters. These graceful vessels are more than mere accessories; they are key players in getting maximum enjoyment out of wine. Join us as we cover how RIEDEL decanters enhance wine enjoyment and help hospitality professionals provide a top-quality wine experience for customers.

An introduction to decanters

using your RIEDEL decanter to great effect

A good decanter can elevate enjoyment in various aspects, from improving a wine's aroma and texture, to enhancing a restaurant's atmosphere and adding a little extra pizzazz to a customer's table. However, for a decanter to achieve this, it has to be of a certain quality. Crafted from crystal glass, our RIEDEL decanters are a testament to precision and elegance. The crystal material, selected for its superior clarity and brilliance, ensures that the visual aspect of the wine presentation matches the aroma and flavor boost that the decanters give to the wine.
decanter
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Handmade vs machine-made

decanters

The manufacturing process of our decanters marries tradition and technology to cater to all wine lovers. Some are meticulously handmade by master glassblowers, showcasing expert craftsmanship passed down through generations and turning each decanter into a piece of functional art. Conversely, machine-made RIEDEL decanters exemplify consistency and precision, using modern engineering techniques to produce flawless forms that maintain our commitment to quality.

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How a wine's age affects the benefit a RIEDEL decanter offers

We remain strong in our conviction that any wine benefits from decanting, but the exact benefit that decanting offers a particular wine depends on a few factors, one of the most notable of which is the wine's age.

For older wines with more sediment build-up, a slow pour into the decanter (and later into the glass) helps separate the sediment, allowing for a clear, sediment-free pour into your guest's glass. Conversely, younger wines benefit from a more dynamic pour, designed to accelerate the aeration process and allow the wine's flavors and aromas to unfurl. For more detail on decanting young and old wines, check out our blog dedicated to this specific subject.

How a RIEDEL decanter can enhance the wine experience at work:

As mentioned above, a good decanter will elevate a customer's experience at a bar or restaurant in several ways. These include:
  • Improving physical enjoyment of the wine
  • Creating a more immersive wine experience
  • Enhancing the aesthetic of the room
  • Boosting reputation
  • Promoting inclusivity for wine-drinking

1. Improved physical enjoyment

At the core of any good decanter is its practical purpose - making wine more enjoyable to drink. It's quite the thought that you can have an excellent bottle of wine, the perfect RIEDEL Grape Varietal Specific wine glass for the job, and yet there is still a way to make the wine taste even better. Whether it's by removing sediment from an old wine to create a smoother texture, or by helping a young wine to develop through aeration, decanting physically makes wine taste, smell, and feel better. We think everyone would agree that this is beneficial if you're trying to deliver a great dining experience.

For young wines in particular, some RIEDEL decanters are especially effective at achieving the goal of aerating and aging the wine. For example, we designed the RIEDEL Eve Decanter and the RIEDEL Mamba Decanter to 'double decant' wines. During this process, air pockets in the decanter create a vacuum that pops oxygen into the wine as it travels through. This is in addition to the aeration the wine enjoys once it rests inside the decanter, making for a more efficient maturing process.

2. A more immersive experience

The benefits decanting brings to the wine-drinking experience extend beyond its impact on the aroma, flavor, and texture of the wine. Witnessing wine flow elegantly down a decanter's crystal walls and transform as a beverage transforms wine-drinking into something more profound. Being present to see this process allows people to fully immerse themselves in the wine experience, helping them foster a deeper appreciation for the expertise in winemaking and decanter craftsmanship.

3. Enhances the aesthetic of the room

There's also the eye-catching aesthetic of RIEDEL decanters to consider. Even if they're not being used for wine, they serve as excellent decorative pieces that lift any room they're in. A well-designed, aesthetically pleasing environment can positively affect an individual's mood and overall sense of well-being, so it's an essential box for restaurants and bars to tick.

If you're looking for specific decanters to improve a bar or restaurant's aesthetic, the RIEDEL Ayam Decanter is a flexible piece that can enhance the room in multiple ways. As well as looking the part when placed on a bar or table, this decanter is designed with a hooked handle, which can be used to allow the decanter to balance off the edge of a flat surface, giving you multiple options when it comes to elevating a room's aesthetic.

4. Boosting reputation:

As a pioneer of Grape Varietal Specific glassware, we've spent a long time establishing the RIEDEL name as one that signifies excellence. With this reputation comes a beneficial stamp of quality for any establishment using RIEDEL glassware. A good restaurant consistently delivers quality ingredients, and a good bar always ensures it serves quality beverages. This same logic should be applied to glassware and decanters, helping visitors perceive your bar or restaurant as one that delivers quality across the board.

5. Offering an inclusive experience to all guests

When it comes to our decanter offerings, we aim to make things as inclusive as possible. Decanting isn't just for when you want to enjoy a whole bottle of red, which is why we offer specialized decanter options:

  • If you want to stick to just a glass or two, full-size decanters can dominate the landscape a little. That's why we offer our RIEDEL Mini decanters, which are perfect for half bottles or when you want to finish your larger bottle of wine at a later date.
  • As firm believers in the benefits that decanting can bring to any wine, it's only right we offer decanters that deliver on that belief. The RIEDEL Mosel Decanter is an excellent example of a decanter suitable for red, white, and sparkling wines, with its elegantly slender shape making it ideal for refrigerating or keeping in an ice bucket. This allows you to wow your guests while ensuring their wine is served at the appropriate temperature every time.

A quality decanter can be a powerful tool for elevating your guests' all-round dining experience. With RIEDEL, you can apply this to a range of scenarios: red, white, and sparkling wines, old and young wines, full bottles or single glasses, providing inclusive luxury that enhances the aesthetic and reputation of any establishment. So pour that wine into your RIEDEL decanter of choice, let it rest and aerate for as long as it needs, and give your guests a wine experience to remember.