How to “Age” Your Wine 5 Years in 20 Seconds: Hyperdecanting 102 Comments
(Photo credit: Oandu)
Wine tends to attract a lot of snobs who use bad French to ruin things.
Done at the dinner table, a brutal technique called “hyperdecanting” will appall that muppet with the popped collar on his polo shirt. It will also make your wine delicious, and make you a hero to everyone who wants to punch him in his smug little face. [cue 0:24]
On a practical level, you can outgun most faux-sommeliers (see what I did there?) with a little brute force. To do this, you first need to understand a bit about aeration.
When in Rome
Generally speaking, letting your wine “breathe” makes it taste better. Just like in our gluten-free kitten pancakes (see pg. 147*), a little air goes a long way…
Letting wine “breathe” equals increasing the surface area of the wine exposed to air for a set period of time. In wine-speak, this “opens the bouquet” (releases aroma compounds) and “softens” the flavor. In simple terms, it usually makes it taste better. Though the mechanism is debated, it appears to reduce the cotton-mouth effects of tannins, which makes aeration perfectly suited to “big” red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux. In another context, tannins are what make your mouth feel puckered and chalky if you drink overbrewed black tea. Aeration may also minimize wine defects like mercaptins, not to be confused with midichlorians.
Enough with the details, Ferriss. How do I aerate?
We’ll look at four methods: swirling and swishing, decanting, using a Vinturi, and beating the sh*t out of it. I’ll explain how to use them first, and there is a demo video at the end.
Method 1: Swirling and Swishing
This is the standard tabletop move. To avoid making an ass of yourself: Hold the glass by the stem, keeping the glass base on the table, and move it in fast but small circles. Take a small sip, hold the wine in your mouth as you tilt your head forward, and suck in a thin stream of air, almost as if you’re gargling upside down. Swallow and make a mmm-like sound to indicate deep thought.
Slap yourself if you do this while your friends are drinking Coronas.
Method 2: Decanting
Decanting is, strictly speaking, transferring liquid from one container to another. The Romans pioneered the use of glass decanters, which they used to remove sediment, leaving the gunk in the original storage vessel.
Decanters with wide bases are now used to expose wine to air, often for 1–2 hours or more.
Method 3: The Vinturi and Wordplay
The Vinturi® wine aerator is a handheld plastic device that capitalizes on Bernoulli’s Principle. Mr. B’s rule dictates—in simple terms—that as you increase the speed of a fluid’s movement, you decrease its pressure. Decrease the pressure of wine and it becomes easier to infuse more air in less time.
If you pour wine from the bottle, through the Vinturi, and directly into a friend’s wineglass, you will hear the accelerated siphoning of air into the stream, which also has a nice party-trick effect. Bingo: Mr. Science–style aeration and a nice shortcut.
The difference is subtle, but it makes for less waiting and less cleanup than traditional decanting.
Method 4: Beat the Sh*t Out of It
This method is not subtle. It’s a scientifically well-founded middle finger pointed at people who give a wonderful beverage a bad name.
I owe a hat tip to the brilliant Nathan Myhrvold, former CTO of Microsoft, master French chef, and creator of the iconic, never-to-be-outdone, $600 (or $450 here) cooking encyclopedia, Modernist Cuisine.
If aeration is exposing more liquid surface area to air, how can we take this to its logical extreme?
Blend it into a fury, of course. Nathan has done this with vintage wine gifted to him by Spanish royalty, but I’d suggest a practice run on something from Trader Joe’s first. Here’s how I do it:
- Pour 1–2 glasses of the wine into a large mixing bowl or—my favorite—a large Bomex beaker. If you’re using the latter, 600 ml of wine is perfect for the next step; just leave plenty of room at the top (I fill to around 400 ml). Take a sip for a good sense of “before.”
- Lower an immersion blender, also called a “stick” blender, into the glass, then blend for 20–30 seconds. Tip your container (or tilt the blender best you can) to enhance the foaming effect. If you have a standing blender like a Vitamix, feel free to go nuts.
The wine should now have a nice heady froth on it, like a proper Guinness. Pour into a serving cup—I favor a 250-ml Bomex, which is exactly one-third of a standard bottle of wine—and enjoy. It should taste markedly different. And, ladies and gents, that is how you achieve 3 hours of decanting, sans fancy descriptors, in 20–30 seconds. Wink at your most offended guest and ask them if they arm wrestle.
Thank you, Mr. Myhrvold.
(*P.S. The gluten-free kitten pancakes are a joke.)
—
The above is one of hundreds of shortcuts from The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life, available here at 50-80% off before the holidays.
###
Odds and Ends: Kindle Fire Winners!
The following 50 people shall receive the free Kindle Fire devices, unless they didn’t send us their mailing addresses. All of the below have received emails about the giveaway, so if you didn’t get an email and are reading this… not to worry. We’ll have more fun coming. Happy holidays!
Dane Davenport
James Proud
Paul Pichugin
Andrew Acker
Jeff Mcdowell
Alex Rosenblum
Colton Day
Carol Nicola
Jared M Johnson
Frank Smith
Tamara Regan
Erik Svensson
Pius Uzamere II
David Ngan
Murray Hoggett
Peter Alicea
Jeni Friedland
Josh Webb
Jeffrey Gray
Luis Congdon
Joseph Haddon
Jason Jacobs
Nathan Crenshaw
Peter Bienkowski
Elizabeth Deuermeyer
Chris Roemmich
Damon Harlan
Brian Valentin
Alex Goetz
Jonathan Heston
Anthony Tanjoco
Rob LaBonne
Josh Cooper
Eric Barry
Matt McGuffin
Kevin Goulet
Alex Smith
Duane Elgan
Katie Spears
Aaron Relph
Christopher Tysh
Justine Hanlon
Andrea Magee
William Hertling
Erik Svensson
Erik Emsley
Steven MacCormack
Tom Harvey
Ship times may vary, but I’m doing my best to get all of them to you by X-mas. Best not to count on it, but I’m double-checking again tomorrow.
Posted on December 18th, 2011
- Subscribe and get the latest
- Save this page
- Stumble It
- Email to a Friend
- Print it
- Leave a comment
Did you like this article?
Related Posts
-
Most Popular
The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now
The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen (and Weapons of Mass Distraction)
How to Travel the World with 10 Pounds or Less (Plus: How to Negotiate Convertibles and Luxury Treehouses)
How to Do The Impossible: Create a Paperless Life, Never Check Voicemail Again, Never Return Another Phone Call…
-
Topics
- 4-Hour Case Studies (39)
- Automation (7)
- Dance (3)
- E-mail Detox (20)
- Entrepreneurship (22)
- Filling the Void (70)
- Gadgets (13)
- Geoarbitrage (8)
- Interviews (26)
- Investing (11)
- Language (13)
- Low-Information Diet (39)
- Marketing (35)
- Mental Performance (19)
- Mini-retirements (23)
- Muse Examples (5)
- Nonsense (5)
- Outsourcing Life (16)
- Physical Performance (30)
- Practical Philosophy (12)
- Presentations (3)
- Protecting Time (12)
- Random (17)
- Remote Offices (7)
- Rockstar Living in… (5)
- The 4-Hour Body (30)
- The 4-Hour Chef (6)
- The 4-Hour Chef Recipes (1)
- The Book – 4HWW (41)
- The Slow-Carb Diet (1)
- Travel (56)
- Uncategorized (29)
-
Tim on Facebook...
-
Tim's Photos and More
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That's how we're gonna be -- cool. Critical is fine, but if you're rude, we'll delete your stuff. Please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name and do not put your website in the comment text, as both come off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration)
102 Responses to “How to “Age” Your Wine 5 Years in 20 Seconds: Hyperdecanting”
December 18th, 2011
9:23 pm
I like the aerator method. One additional thing is using a new water filter. It tends to lighten the taste of a harsh or highly acidic wine.
December 18th, 2011
9:25 pm
I LOVE this. fantastic. I will def. use in the future.
December 18th, 2011
9:26 pm
Tim, have you lost weight? Lookin kinda frail dude?!?! Slow puncture?
December 19th, 2011
8:23 am
Been experimenting with extended fasting! Not frail, just back to my smaller size :)
December 19th, 2011
11:55 am
Hey Tim!
I read this post and have never heard of decanting before, I didn’t have any of the supplies on hand so I poured some wine into my protein shake mixer cup it worked great and even produced a froth at the top of it! Check it out.
December 20th, 2011
1:53 pm
Hey Tim, I am currently on Day Ten of fast, which I usually do 5-7 days each Christmas, just to clear out any rogue elements accumulated from the year. What method do you use? I follow Don Tolman (65+ yo scholar who does 40 day fasts and then runs 26 miles), and have been alternating days with fresh juices and water, along with some psyllium and green clay for bulk. Would love to see an article on methods you have looked into… (I’m sure that you, being you, did a LOT of research before you started!) Have mowed the lawn, cleaned out the gutters, had terrific sex and worked out upper body: amazing how much energy you can get from NOT eating!
December 18th, 2011
9:34 pm
Awesome info as usual! I use a venturi regularly, have to try the magic bullet on it.
Off topic… Jeebus dude, did you steal that stove out of a FEMA trailer?
December 18th, 2011
9:35 pm
I’m curious about this process and will definitely try it out but it seems there’s a bit of irony involved. Those who care enough about the tradition of enjoying fine wines will likely turn up their noses at what you suggest and those who enjoy wine socially among friends probably don’t care to sully more dishes than they care to wash once everyone’s gone home. So the question seems to be, is this not something more for the fringe foodie experimenters who are all in it for the flavor? I don’t see it catching on.
December 18th, 2011
9:48 pm
Oh Tim, really? A stick blender? LOL. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should… ;-)
BTW, that looks like an Italian wine (my fav), what were you, um, drinking?
Ciao.
Michael
Los Gatos, CA
December 18th, 2011
9:48 pm
Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer the “slow” way. There is nothing more fun than getting to see how a wine evolves over an hour (or even a few hours). Besides I think you have a lot more precise control over the overall process of aerating the wine using a traditional decanter since it happens over a longer period of time.
Still a very cool post though; nice work Tim.
December 18th, 2011
10:03 pm
Seriously bro, are you ok? Call me
December 18th, 2011
10:05 pm
Lol, why the Bomex?
I’ve seen too many of these (in labs), I wouldn’t dare to ever drink out of one of these.
December 18th, 2011
10:19 pm
Nothing like whipping out the blender for a gifted bottle from Spanish royalty. Excited to try out my new Fire!
RL
December 18th, 2011
10:46 pm
Thanks for pulling out that classic scene from Conan.
December 18th, 2011
11:00 pm
Please tell me your book involves something with chicken cordon bleu.
Seems like a recipe you could simplify, and it’s SO ridiculously good…
-Chase
December 19th, 2011
6:23 am
[To Chase]
It’s not cool to scrape someone’s website. Be inspired, but don’t copy. More power to you if you want to start a blog, but there are too many free WordPress themes out there for you to justify scraping Tim’s site down to the bone. Design, layout, menu, disclosure, it’s all there. C’mon man…
December 19th, 2011
9:17 am
Good call Owen. The resemblance to Tim’s site is uncanny. Just missing all the sincerity…
December 18th, 2011
11:42 pm
Can we get another post on getting dreams into action?? Or getting ideas into actual products. That’s what I’m working hard to do on my site and any help would be great!
December 19th, 2011
1:57 am
It’s good. But it’s not new. I have seen this in labs.
December 19th, 2011
8:26 am
Hi Robert,
I appreciate the comment, but please note: the goal isn’t to find something that’s new to everyone. On the web, that’s not possible, especially with an educated audience (which I’m fortunate to have).
The goal is to find and vet useful things that *most* of my readers won’t have seen. That could be 90%+ in some cases, but it could also be 51%.
Happy holidays,
Tim
December 19th, 2011
2:48 am
Tim,
What’s your advice about not over decanting young wines? I have always followed the advice that you don’t put a young wine in a decanter to swirl because you will literally over air ate it. Versus older wines need a lot of decanting like 8 years or more being older. What’s your advice or rule of thumb
December 19th, 2011
8:27 am
Taste it undecanted first, then experiment! You can always decant a smaller amount quickly with a Vinturi to blender to see what you think.
December 19th, 2011
8:43 am
Greg, there’s nothing wrong with decanting a young wine, but generally you don’t need to. If it’s heavily oaked and perhaps too young to drink (many are), decanting it and letting it sit overnight might help. As Tim says, taste it and see — if it tastes fine, drink up! If it doesn’t, decant it and wait — but only if you have time.
Decanting isn’t magic, as Tim shows, and far too many people worry about it. Vinturri is cute, but a waste of time in my book.
Ciao.
Michael
December 19th, 2011
3:29 am
Gotta watch out for those pesky snobs… especially ones trying to be witty with a well placed double entendre.
Haha! Seriously though, that one made me laugh twice. Once for the double entendre and once for the fact that you immediately pointed it out.
Question: Does a self-deprecating point of wit, when played on a double entendre directed at pretentious snobs, cause an immediate escalation to triple entendre?
I think my head is about to explode with the sheer awesomeness of it all.
Well played sir, well played indeed!
- James
December 19th, 2011
8:28 am
The accidental triple entendre almost made my head explode as well. Gotta be careful.
December 19th, 2011
5:25 am
“Wine tends to attract a lot of snobs who use bad French to ruin things.”
“Though the mechanism is debated, it appears to reduce the cotton-mouth effects of tannins, which makes aeration perfectly suited to “big” red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Bourdeaux.”
It’s Bordeaux, and a “bourde” is a stupid mistake.
But I’m sure you did that on purpose :P
December 19th, 2011
5:49 am
And for those who are wondering who Mr Myrhvold is… http://www.modernistcuisine.com which is where the concept for
Hyper Decanting comes from.
December 19th, 2011
8:32 am
Yep, he’s a smart one. The link to his book (if you can call it that) is also in the post.
December 19th, 2011
6:23 am
Hey, it’s BORDEAUX not BOURDEAUX ;-)
cheers
Guillaume (who lives near Bordeaux ^^)
December 19th, 2011
8:32 am
Oh, boy. On it and fixing!
December 19th, 2011
7:57 am
Warm wine… mmmmm
Maybe refrigerate the wine a little beforehand…
I have that exact Aerator… its awesome (and does produce a markedly different taste)
December 19th, 2011
8:18 am
I believe Nathan and his team did blind triangle tests to prove hyperdecanting really works.
People will think the wine tastes better if they see it poured into a decanter rather than pulverized in a blender.
Idea for book: so much of taste is about perception. Is it ok for doctors to prescribe placebos if they actually work? Is it ok to pour a hyperdecanted wine into a normal decanter right before service if it makes the wine “taste” better?
December 19th, 2011
8:34 am
Hi Kevin,
Great point and question.
In my opinion, you’d actually be doing them a favor by putting it in the decanter beforehand, if it improves their experience. I think this is analogous to plating for maximal aesthetic appeal, or even (in some cases) searing with a torch after sous-vide. The visual is critical to the perception.
Best,
Tim
December 19th, 2011
8:27 am
I’ve tried this method just this same weekend with my brother-in-law. We did a “double blind test”, trying to differenciate hyperdecanted wine with normal wine. No difference whatsoever. We both failed in detecting the hyper one :(
Maybe we do not have a proper nose for wine though :)
December 19th, 2011
8:38 am
Aitor, maybe the original wine wasn’t tannic enough to make an appreciable difference? Did you do a bold red wine?
December 19th, 2011
8:34 am
Hey, now that I think about it, there’s probably more going on here than meats the eye.
Wine oxidizes with exposure to oxygen and time. When a wine goes sour in a day or two, it’s due to oxidization. But it seems like the blender trick serves to introduce the positive effects of oxygen without the negatives.
I wonder if the tannins in the wine are somehow being bonded to oxygen or otherwise reacting so they are less present in the mouth, or are the different processes at work here.
Any chemists want to chime in?
December 19th, 2011
8:40 am
Bordeaux or Bourdeaux…”Gold jacket. Green Jacket. Who gives a sh*t.” – Happy Gilmore
I spent some time in BORDeaux in ’07 for the Rugby World Cup (which I know Tim, you will appreciated considering your penchant for warrior sports like hurling, and various MMA). Some of the best wine I’ve ever had – I’m sure the atmosphere had something to do with that!
I tried the hyper-decanting yesterday as part of the “7 Day X-mas Countdown” on my iPad 4Hour Chef app! Didn’t sense much difference between hyper-decanting and using my aereator, but was a fun experiment overall. It was my first ever Cheat Day – or as I call it “Fat Kids Gone Wild” Day – and it was everything I hoped it would be and more.
Also, Tim: ever try Buckfast “tonic wine” when you were in Ireland?? Was quite popular with some of the lads – never a dull moment when drinking that.
December 19th, 2011
8:42 am
Is there something wrong with me if all wine just tastes sour and the same to me? (I’ve tried expensive wines so it’s not that I only tried the el cheapo stuff).
Zinc imbalance? Brain damage? Damage to taste buds? Lack of practice.
Help me appreciate wine! :)
December 19th, 2011
8:48 am
I discovered the Vinturi about two years ago and it’s got to the point where I can’t drink a glass of wine without it. I’ve even been to a couple restaurants that Vinturi your wine for you.
December 19th, 2011
8:49 am
Great idea – Thanks Tim!
The difference is not just marginal after first trial (I guess it also depends on your choice of wine).
I don’t however own an industrial strength blender so resorted to my hand-held milk frother http://tinyurl.com/cxwx7c9, used to to make pseudo-cappuchinos.
Easy to use, clean and store. Seems to be an alternative to le blender.
Although there’s nothing like upgrading your goods with sheer horse power!
December 29th, 2011
10:24 am
I was actually wondering if a milk frother would work. Especially now since I’m drinking my espresso sans milk (thanks 4 hour body…), hopefully I’ll be able to put the frother to work :)
December 19th, 2011
9:08 am
Any advantage to the Bomex over a regular glass set on a food scale?
December 19th, 2011
9:28 am
Good info.
Unfortunately, I mostly drink simple wines. Learning a wine’s complexity and/or developing a more sophisticated pallet sounds like fun. However, I found that simpler wines yield the most joy with a larger audience, especially when variety is limited. Good company is the tastiest catalyst to any food and drink. And even the simplest wines can result in great times and fuzzy memories. :)
December 19th, 2011
9:34 am
America’s Test Kitchen recently covered this topic in the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated. They found that pouring the wine from one container to another 15 times, made it taste better than the blender method.
December 19th, 2011
10:50 am
you always remind me that life is like a big fun experiment. thanks i get lighter after every post
December 19th, 2011
10:53 am
I tried this experiment after when you posted it on Amazon a few weeks ago, with one of my favorite Argentine cab. sauvignon…It had never tasted better, Ill be pulling this trick out for guest for sure!
Thanks Tim
December 19th, 2011
10:59 am
BE CAREFUL!
Before hyperdecanting make sure the device, as well as the container, does not have any part touching the wine made out of cheap plastic (better yet, no plastic) or cheap metal.
I ended up setting up a blind test with a new device (hand mixer) – had a go and the hyperdecanted wine tasted HORRIBLE. I could taste the plastic and metal. Barf. Also felt like I had food poisoning for an hour afterwards.
Be careful.
But the whole idea of hyperdecanting is AWESOME! It works really well with the right equipment. Highly recommended, just be careful what you use do decant. Don’t try it the first time on the whole bottle.
December 19th, 2011
11:19 am
So the kitten pancakes are not gluten-free? That’s good, it sounded more like a cheat-day indulgence anyway.
December 19th, 2011
11:38 am
Tim!
I’ve been messing around with your 5 second cadence idea, and i’ve been improving! I haven’t been following a calendar, just attempting it when I feel like it.
First time: 25lb dumbells, pressed overhead 7.5 times.
Second time: 25lbs x 8.
Today: 25lbs x 10.5!
Thanks for the idea!
….oh, also, do you ever look at the website attatched to our names? Why is that there?
December 19th, 2011
11:58 am
A question directly related to wine tech and snobbery.
Have you gone up and down the sliding scale of quality and come out with any model of quality of wine v. quality of presentation? Do you have a personal snobbery line?
I ask for a few topics. A few years ago it was found through a study that natural corks were less efficient than screw off tops for preserving quality in an aging wine. No study i’ve seen refers to the plastic-ish corks often used now. This was covered in a few different forms I happened to catch.
I’ve also read some very very limited pieces on the pouch or box wine types. Personally for the utility of them I like it but quality of wine is commonly ignored at this level due to the snobbery end.
Just wondered what your thoughts might be. When times are shitty I usually enjoy a box of Cabernet, I’ll have to mess around with your method and see if there’s anything I notice.
December 19th, 2011
12:19 pm
For your next trick, try putting Vodka and other spirits through a Brita filter. Makes an extraordinary difference. But the snobs would never do that either. :-)
December 19th, 2011
12:23 pm
If you are going to cite Conan, then you need primitive method to decant wine. How about:
1. Put a few fingers of wine in cleaned peanut butter jar.
2. Apply top.
3. Shake to froth
4. Remove top.
5. Drink
6. Kill random enemy
7. Repeat until stumbling
December 19th, 2011
8:58 pm
@Rick September 2012 is right. Book deals are made with the publisher before they’re fully written.
Does anyone get really sleepy when they drink red wine? I don’t have wine often because it’s like benadryl to me.
December 20th, 2011
2:04 pm
Arturo, you may be allergic to the sulfites which they put into red wine to preserve it (code 202 or 212 I think). It’s also in some white wines, and many people are allergic to it. Symptoms may include tiredness, headache and hangover-like symptoms (sounds like anyone would get this after too much wine but you may not get these effects after drinking an equivalent amount of purer spirit like vodka). Try taking an antihistamine before drinking it, as sulfite is a ‘histamine’. There is also a product called “PureWine” (www.purewine.com.au) which you can put into the bottle or the glass to negate the allergen.
You’re welcome, brother.
December 19th, 2011
12:54 pm
Hey Tim,
I’m on the slow carb diet right now, and am loving wine. My friend has a vinturi aerator and it works great. I was wondering if you had any wine suggestions for a new wine-o. I like bold cabernet sauvignons and am on a budget.
Thanks for the post, keep up the experimenting.
Mike Tieden.
December 19th, 2011
3:30 pm
check out Rombauer
December 19th, 2011
3:22 pm
Tim,
Cool video brother. I will have to give this a try next time I have people over… Cheers!
Manny
December 19th, 2011
3:58 pm
Tim,
I love your 4HWW series, but unfortunately have to raise a my hand here on your header at this will not “age” your wine 5 years in 20 seconds.
“Hyperdecanting” your wine will certainly ‘open it up’ (the period after you open your bottle when the nose and flavour improves with exposure to air) but will not “age” your wine 5 years.
Ageing wine involves many very complex and slow chemical reactions that take years – there is no known way to speed this up (though a lot has been spent researching it for obvious business advantage).
I’ve worked in wine for over 10 years (though not a wine w@nker), from vintages in France, to study and hospitably. Just thought I’d raise this point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aging_of_wine
Cheers
Mike
December 21st, 2011
6:39 pm
Thanks somebody finally pointed this out, there is reason why is wine maturing in the bottle and has got a vintage stated.
I belive that natural tannins and acids helps digest the food better.
How about matching food with the wine just gone through mixer, You got fairly good idea however It does destroying the basic characteristics of the wine. you guys just make fluffy alcoholic grape juice.
December 19th, 2011
4:02 pm
Does the same hold true for white wines or is this not necessary for them?
December 19th, 2011
4:39 pm
Welch’s grape juice taste better this way too.
December 19th, 2011
4:43 pm
Lots of snob-bashing in this post, as is often the case whenever a publication that isn’t about wine writes about wine. Knowing a lot about something doesn’t make someone a snob (and neither does speaking in bad French… it’s just one of those things that sometimes happens when you drink).
Regardless, kudos on promoting the blender technique — any angle that helps to demystify this subject and make it more accessible to people is positive. My big concern with the blending, however, is that you lose the various stages that a wine goes through while decanting traditionally. One of the fun things about opening an age-worthy wine is tasting it as it changes over time, and speeding up that process deprives you of the ability to enjoy the journey. (Wasn’t there an Adam Sandler movie about a similar principle?) Also, plenty of wines don’t benefit from aeration and are best enjoyed right out of the bottle, i.e. lighter reds and many whites, so aerating them excessively is doing little more than hastening their decline into vinegar.
As you mention in a response above, tasting the wine immediately is a good rule of thumb, as is progressing from swirling to decanting as necessary. I’d reserve the blender for only the stubbornest, most tannic young reds — preferably inexpensive ones, as the ones that cost a few bucks more often have interesting stories to tell as they open up.
December 20th, 2011
9:56 am
Finally a nugget of useful information. Thanks for steering this ship in the right direction, Jesse.
Thrashing a fine wine with a blender because someone can’t wait 30 minutes? This exemplifies how perfectly impatient we are today. The rest of this post stinks, and it perpetuates a foolish method.
Cheers.
December 19th, 2011
5:20 pm
I just went on your Amazon link to the 4 Hour Chef and it states that the title will not be available until September 2012.
What’s up am I missing something?
December 19th, 2011
6:41 pm
This is a great, classic Tim Ferris, post. The blender trick really does work, even on boxed wines (yeah, I’m a bit cheap). Thanks for sharing.
Would love to hear your experience on the extended fast. Possible blog post to come?
December 19th, 2011
7:29 pm
I just tried this experiment, shaking my glass of Cabernet Sauvignon La Huerta 2010 from Chile (it’s a cheap wine, but not bad and in Colombia wine is f. expensive) with a fork for 30″ and it worked pretty well.
You also get the thumbs up from my italian friens oenlogist :)
December 19th, 2011
7:55 pm
I enjoy the idea and believe that wine should be demystified, and believe the theatre of service might be improved with some application during service (I work in the industry).
Most modern winemaking involves micro-oxygenation, but also the use of nitrogen to seal wine in the bottle. Aeration mimics the first and releases the second.
Very intriguing!
December 19th, 2011
10:34 pm
Hey, Tim. Funny comment thread.
I’m curious about your fasting. How do you feel? You look healthy.
Also, thanks for introducing me to Marks Daily Apple & Primal Blueprint. The Primal Blueprint has helped me tremendously and I find it very sustainable.
– Jeff
P.S. I just received a compliment message today from a client that “I’ve never seen a better, real life example of Tim Ferris (“New Rich”) and Michael Gerber (E-Myth) in PRACTICE.” Soooo, basically you’ve reached a new level of achievement, in that your name is now a label (along with “New Rich”) used to describe uber-effectiveness in business building strategy. Kudos :)
December 20th, 2011
12:22 am
Thanks very much for the kind comment, Jeff! Yes, Mark’s stuff is great. I feel absolutely great on IF, especially with a few “Warrior Diet”-like days per week. Happy holidays!
December 20th, 2011
3:33 am
OMG Tim you’re crazy, but THAT, we’ve all been knowing this for a long time :)
Honestly, hard sight to bear for the French man I am, this wine blending BUT… I’ll definitely try this with a particular Medoc I love to drink :)
Thanks for the advice,
Matt, Paris, France
December 20th, 2011
5:58 am
Great tip Tim, thanks! Now we do the same with beer and drink it in glasses of 1 meter height!
Sven from Belgium.
December 20th, 2011
8:20 am
Tim-
Great entry. Have you seen the wind wand? It is pretty amazing…..it doesn’t make any sense but the wine tastes markedly different after a swirl with that thing. It also makes that perfect gift for the guy or girl that has everything.
-Rusty
December 20th, 2011
8:25 am
great trick, worked great! but I imagine purists would frown at this, as part of wine drinking is the ritual itself…
December 20th, 2011
8:25 am
Congrats to Erik Svensson. Looks like he won twice!
December 20th, 2011
9:00 am
My method is to pour a glass, cover the top with your hand or cork it, then shake it like you’re trying to make a bottle of pop explode for about 20 seconds. No blender or equipment needed.
Another glass to test, then perhaps one more round of shaking. Works great. Every time.
December 20th, 2011
9:39 am
Just got my Christmas gift, Tim! Thanks! I love it. Best Christmas ever. ;)
-j
December 20th, 2011
7:47 pm
“tannins are what make your mouth feel puckered and chalky if you drink overbrewed black tea”
I love brewing strong tea. Can I use the Vinturi to decant tea and get rid of the chalky aftertaste?
December 21st, 2011
6:05 pm
Tim that’s cool. bummer I can’t use one while out camping (no power) I wonder if an egg beater would work lol.
December 22nd, 2011
2:54 am
Hey Tim
I know you are a wine addict and a connoisseur, however … allow me to tell you some things about the next level – I’m by no means a connoisseur, just happened to find some thing out.
Some wise man once said that good things take time to complete. A true work of art requires times, so does a plant or a child in order to grow to adulthood. There is natural flow to things, jumping over steps in order to get to end faster leads to predictable results. Try to force a butterfly to get out of it’s cocoon sooner and it will die. Force a children into adulthood and you will end up with a incomplete human being.
This especially true with the wine.
Let me tell a few things about wine. Thing is, wine is far more than mere fermented grape juice. It is a complex liquid; the best natural wines have been studied and it was found out they contain some 600 (!) different components, as opposed to 30 (or less in the case of falsified wines) for low quality ones. Wines are therefore more of a live being than a simple beverage. It grows in time almost as a child, absorbing the energy of its environment. People, location, sun, soil etc they all come together in creating a wine. This is why they say wines have personalities.
True connoisseurs feel all these subtle energies that flow through the wine, as opposed to just taste or, in case of the majority the ‘liver ache/headache the morning after’ test.
You can age the taste of the wine in 5 seconds …. but I wouldn’t be so sure about the rest.
Final thoughts: this is meant as informative post. I admire you Tim for your work and your dedication … however, at the same time, I’d like you to understand there are some things are beyond efficiency, a whole world actually. A world that one cannot quantify but feel and live it. There’s no rush here, because things grow in their own time.
December 22nd, 2011
5:25 am
Well Tim,
Thank you for this video and the tips provided here. Personally I am a big fan of wine. I lived in Paris for 5 years where I took some wine-tasting lessons. I have also visited Bordeaux many times because my fiancé is from that amazing region.
From all the above ways, I prefer the first one offe course: Method 1: Swirling and Swishing. I find is more original!
I suppose you are going to open a good bottle to celebrate the new year!
Enjoy :)
December 22nd, 2011
11:31 am
Hey Tim,
Just want to say “Thank You!”
I received the Kindle Fire in the mail yesterday.
Awesome prize.
All the best,
AT
December 22nd, 2011
10:23 pm
Hey Tim, I tried this with a simple pump milk frother and it was a very notable difference with way less cords and clean up. I’m no wine connoisseur but even I could tell a big difference with an inexpensive bottle of Cab.
For others interested just search Stainless Steel Milk Frother on Amazon. It’s kinda like a french press and works great on wine!
December 23rd, 2011
2:55 am
Is it possible that brutalising wine with a blender affects the molecular structure? I know this is the case with deriving vegetable juice from a blender as opposed to a conventional juicer.
December 25th, 2011
12:27 pm
I tried this today with 2 glasses. 1 untouched and 1 “hyperdecanted”. I have no real knowledge of wines but it definately tasted better.
TIP: I used a milk frother wich you can just stick in the glass and it sounds and looks a little less brutal.
Search google for “aerolatte”
December 28th, 2011
1:26 am
Im a big fan of the book and the site but after reading through the comments I feel compelled to make an important clarification. This method might seem great on big red wines and I’m sure most people who have tried it out after reading this post have noticed a “difference” but the science behind wine making just doesnt support this aggressive method.
Wine’s aromas come from aldehydes and esters which when exposed to oxygen will make the wine more smelly. When a bottle of wine is aggressively shaken or decanted however you are breaking up those compounds so violently that most will never reform again, thus making a wine taste much different and probably worse, NOT better. This effect is commonly known as bottle shock. Wine is all about chemistry and decanting wine is about gently exposing the wine to oxygen, not pummeling the shit out of it.
Tannin molecules on the other hand can be broken up through swirling, decanting and using a vinturi but this is only advisable on wines that can “take it” like the big cabs etc. You can be a little more aggressive here but using a blender on a great bottle of wine is going to screw with the flavor more than break up those pesky tannin. By the way, dont like tannic reds? Drink them with a steak or cheese and see what that does to them.
A $10 wine from trader joes is not going to show much difference no matter what method you use because those wines aren’t made with any kind of body to show any difference. They are meant to be approachable upon release (which is the reason why they are popular). By the same token a lighter bodied red wine would actually taste worse after vigorous decanting as you’d be breaking up the flavor compounds in order to break up the tannin which isn’t there.
There are a lot of gimmicks out there that are meant to help people understand wine better but are mostly frivolous and I hate to think of the idea of “hyperdecanting” catching on as the tried and true methods are way
better.
Here’s your best bet.
$10 wine from TJs? Just drink it.
Nice young powerful wine? Decant it in a regular decanter. Or just wait a while before opening it.
Old wine? Be careful decanting at all because it’s already done the process naturally.
December 29th, 2011
2:22 am
If your Riches are yours , why don’t you take them with you to the other world ?(Benjamin Franklin , American president )
December 29th, 2011
10:07 am
(IF) Intermittent Fasting
PaleoISH Diet
15 minutes daily exercise
It works
December 30th, 2011
5:31 am
Great article Tim!
Another suggestion I would add is if you only are planning on having one glass you could use a battery operated milk frother (eg: aerolatte) to do a similar job on a smaller scale.
January 4th, 2012
7:00 pm
Tim! We use a great “hyper-decanting tool” called Wine Swizzler that aerates your wine – in your glass! (as much or as little as you want, at the touch of a button)
It’s not as messy as our old method of pouring a bottle in the blender and foaming it up to the ceiling, and it works just as well, if not better! I think you’d love it, and it’s a great travel size to take along in case of a wine-aerating emergency, wherever you are.
January 6th, 2012
3:12 am
Wow Tim. I don’t often do this (that is go to a blog just to bash it) but I felt obligated here. Your theory on hyper decanting is just absurd. It’s late where I am and I can’t possibly tell you all the ways that you are misleading the wine-drinking public with your article and video here but I would love to talk with you about it sometime. To each his own but please take the time to educate yourself on the content before attempting to off hand tell others about “better” and “quicker” ways of doing things. I honestly feel sorry for you. Keep up with the blog here but I must admit that articles like this are on my top ten list of things wrong with the wine world.
January 6th, 2012
5:32 pm
Loved the tip on wine hyperdecanting and video. Quite unconventional and I’m sure would make a lot of ‘wine snobs’ frown. I’ll try this for sure!
Also, being French, I feel that i must say this: make sure to hold the glass from the very bottom. Tradition has it that it will prevent from the smell of your hands to affect the taste of your wine…(granted this is an old tradition when hands weren’t particularly clean but still…)
Best
Bruno
January 6th, 2012
9:32 pm
Chris,
Tim got this idea from the book “Modernist Cuisine”. Perhaps if you see who’s behind that book and their standing both as scientist, chef and wine enthusiast you might not be so quick to dismiss the idea. And give it ago – it does actually work.
Adam
January 11th, 2012
7:41 pm
Hey Tim!
Not sure if this has been posted yet but my girlfriend and I tried the “blender method” with a cheap boxed wine we were trying to make drinkable and used one of our Blender Bottle Protein Shakers to aerate the wine. Worked like a charm! We tested it on a number of other “good” wines versus our Vinturi units and the results were pretty stellar. There doesn’t seem to be a plastic taste left from the bottle…or maybe our pallets are not as refined as some.
January 16th, 2012
3:52 am
Thanks for the tip tim! I used your knowledge and adapted my own aeration method.. a $2 battery powered milk frother from ikea! works fantastically and no cleaning or power point required ;)
January 20th, 2012
2:52 am
I thought you would put something into the bottle of wine to age it 20 years… Lol! I get it.. Thanks for that technique.. I’d better try it that on our upcoming sales rally we’ll sure have a cocktail party then.. Thanks very much!
January 23rd, 2012
11:39 am
Great! Thanks.
January 25th, 2012
4:47 am
Great! I have one of those stick blenders – thought it was a useless gift. Now I have an excellent purpose for it.
January 26th, 2012
11:25 pm
I’ve got another one for you Tim that’s really cool, (I mean cold actually) and makes wine snobs turn over in their graves.
Take that unused opened bottle of wine that you can’t drink right now, put it in a plastic water bottle, no more than 2/3 full, (for expansion),and freeze the shit out of it. Pull it out of the freezer in two or three months, thaw and drink.
It will still taste great. Check it out!
January 29th, 2012
1:09 pm
Hi Tim!
I thought you might like this. It’s a slick combination of design, photography and foodie arts > http://ht.ly/8K7aC
Not my site. Just one I peruse from time to time.
And thank you SO MUCH for the pic with my (now your) eggcups! I was over the moon.
Un abrazo fuerte,
Camila.
February 1st, 2012
10:09 am
Some sense, more nonsense, and two critical omissions.
First, the last.
It doesn’t much matter what you do with garbage wine, but treat even half-decent reds gently – ordinary old rosés are beyond hope, and most whites fairly robust. And take pains to get the temperature right – a circlet wine thermometer should be your first accessory. Cool under a damp tea-towel or warm in your house. And be warned, this can take hours.
Always decant reds, even junk, down to the last mouthful which, joy of joys, you taste. Usually a contaminated wine stinks but, once in a blue moon, only the taste is affected. Don’t worry about being able to detect this, if you stumble on one you won’t be spitting it out just to stay sober. Open the bottle half an hour before drinking, and pour slowly into a container, a proper decanter is best but a jug will do provided it’s impeccably clean. Stop when there’s just a little left, and taste it – drink it if there’s no sediment – to make sure there hasn’t been contamination. In a restaurant, pour reds into your glasses as soon as you can, up to the point of maximum diameter for classic tulips and, if need be, warm them in your hands – or, if too hot, send the bottle back to be cooled or even, in emergency, add an ice-cube.
February 2nd, 2012
12:12 am
Hi Tim,
Nice methods ;)
However, the last one “mixing” method may be not as good for wine as you think. High speed mixing will (probably) kill most of the wine enzymes and antioxidants… which is bad thing for us. If that will happen wine will lose it’s health giving “power” :)
I’m not hundred percent sure about that but if fresh vegetable juices are losing their best stuff by fast mixing I think that wine may be subjected to the same effect.
Have a great day!
February 2nd, 2012
7:31 am
Another thing to remember is temperature — too-warm wine (red/white) tastes bad. I don’t hesitate to fish an ice-cube or two from my water glass into my wine glass. Dilution is a minor sin compared to too warm.