Ask Adam: How Can I Tell if a Wine Will Need to Be Decanted When Shopping?

In general, there is no hard-and-fast rule as to what wines should and shouldn’t be decanted. If you want to decant the $10 bottle of red you just bought, feel free. Decanting a white, rosé, or sparkling wine is also never a bad decision. Decanting is a fun way to experience wine in a different way than serving it directly from the bottle. Some wines do see benefits from being decanted, but there is not a solid rule that says all wines over a certain price or from a particular region should always be decanted.

As a general rule, I almost always decant red wines recently purchased from the store that I know are young, and most likely still have aggressive tannins, such as Cabernet, Nebbiolo, and other highly tannic varieties. I also like to decant expensive fuller-bodied white wines, though I don’t always stick to the rule, and sometimes opt to pour these wines straight from the bottle. That’s the fun thing about wine. You can play around!