Wine accessories - The three musketeers: The carafe

As I promised last week, today I am gonna present you the 2nd person of the (three) four musketeers: PORTHOS, the wine carafe.

Actually the wine carafe is one of the most expensive equipments, especially when you just recently started to get into wine. But why is a good wine carafe important? What do I get from it? And why should I go for one? These are definitely the questions when you face the prices for a carafe (50 - 75 € average price for a carafe which is "okay". And up to 200 € for a excellent one.) But what are the differences between the different carafe types? 

A glass carafe for
young wines

Okay, lets start first with the question for what a carafe is good for? A carafe is important to provide the wine with air. The air, as I mentioned somewhere shortly in one of my post before, is important for the development of the aromas and the tannins within the wine. So basically the carafe is providing space for the wine so that wine has a huge surface to obtain a lot of air in a short time (wine people say that the wine "breaths"). This is particular important if you have a young wine which needs to develop itself. On the contrary older wine needs a carafe which creates a smaller surface for the wine; a more narrowed one, since the wine had already time to develop itself. So not so much air for an old one like for a younger wine. 

Another reason for having a carafe is that you can get ride of the deposit (if the wine contains some; can be the case for young as well as for old wines). Mentioning these major things so far, someone might ask why not going for another vessel? Something that is cheaper and as well made out of glass? Honestly I do agree with that, it is possible and also not a bad idea. I even think for a wine beginner that might be a considerable option. Especially if you keep thinking of the price. But if you don't fear the price and also wanna go for it 100% right, then of course you will need one - sooner or later! - Also one point for me to go for a carafe is the nice outlook when having good company and good food. It gives in my personal point of view the certain touch for the moment. 

A crystal glass carafe for
young wines; made by Peugeot

So if you go for a carafe what is actually the reason for the price difference?? It is simply the glass and also if you got a designer carafe. Latter ones are from my point not always the best choice, since you basically pay just for the design and the brand of the designer. Plus some designs... et ben... comment je peux dire?... Some designs I have the feeling they were letting their kids drawing... very creative but logic? Then again I am atm in the World Design Capital 2012 (Helsinki) and I must say some designs are really awesome! So I guess there are pros and cons. 

The glass plays a crucial role. So far there are normal glass, crystal glass, and plumb crystal glass. All these different glass types differs in their structure (if you have look under the electron microscope... who doesn't have it at home?) and also the physical ability of thermo conducting. Both points play a role in the wine development. I cannot tell much about the differences in details, since I am having simply a lack of knowledge at this point. However from my experience I can tell you: The best of these ones is plumb crystal glass. The wine tastes much better and also develop itself in another way than with all the other glass. Second best is crystal glass. But these glass are less frequently asked for and also a little more difficult to produce, therefore they are more expensive.   

So I hope know you got a bigger and better idea about wine carafe. That's it for this week. See you next week again!  À bientôt mes amis!

PS: A tip at the end: When decanting the wine, please be careful and try to avoid making too many bubbles. I have been told to do so but never really understood why. I assume that if you want to have a continues well develop aroma in the whole wine you have to do that. Otherwise when you are making a lot of bubbles the wine  maybe will have later a broad spectrum of different tastes. This might influence the whole tasting feeling in not such a positive way. And also now you got your answer from the last post - why you shouldn't shake the red wine!

- “Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.” Shakespeare -