Hello there! Im Dr. Vinifera, but you can call me Vinny. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the fine points of etiquette to the science of winemaking. And dont worry, Im no wine snob—you can also ask me those “dumb questions” youre too embarrased to ask your wine geek friends! I hope you find my answers educational, empowering and even amusing. And dont forget to check out my most asked questions and my full archives for all my Q&A classics.
I would love your take on “hyperdecanting,” or decanting your wine in a blender. Decanting any wine this violently seems to fly in the face of common sense. Please give us your thoughts.
Yes, I’ve seen some buzz about Modernist Cuisine author Nathan Myhrvolds assertion that a blender is a better, faster tool for aerating wine than a decanter, and that 30 seconds at high speed does a better job. I can open the bottle with a chainsaw faster than with a corkscrew too, but that doesnt make it the better tool.
Over the years, I’ve seen countless devices that purport the use of crystals, magnets, glass straws or special metal stirrers and the like to help age or aerate a wine. I understand the desire for experimentation, and I relate to the spirit that we need to conquer science to make it work faster or more in our favor. I also get that wine has an air of mystique to it, and that means that people are either trying to play into that or debunk it.
But to me, it’s really quite simple. Open a wine and pour yourself a glass. If it seems like it needs some more air, you can decant it, or just enjoy watching it evolve in your glass. Will putting a wine in a blender aerate it? Absolutely. Faster? Sure. Better? I’m not so certain. It won’t make a bad wine magically good, and a very delicate older wine might have only a brief period—a matter of minutes—when the wine is in full bloom, as opposed to a younger wine, which could bloom for hours. Hyperdecanting could miss that magic moment, just as decanting it too soon would.
The idea is that the blender aerates the wine and softens the tannins. As easy as blitzing your wine for 30 seconds, this super-simple and convenient way of letting your wine ‘breathe’, means you’ll be left with a mellower, fruitier and maybe even better-tasting wine.
At an offline many years ago, after several bottles were consumed, my attention was drawn to a blender on the counter. Half a bottle in the blender, on high for about five seconds and… the wine was completely ruined. It’s been over a decade so I don’t remember exactly what it tasted like but it was pretty bad. It definitely made the wine worse.
Yeah, at a blind tasting many years ago one couple brought a wine that had been put into a blender per the recommendation of the winery owner. It finished last, by a considerable margin. I wasn’t ever going to trust that winery owner again. Why do people even consider things like this. Just let the wine be and open up over time.
I’ve seen this done with young pinot in a respected tasting room (not naming names). Shocking at first, but the methodology makes sense if the intent is to whip an incredible amount of air into wine as quickly as possible. I assume they had the blender expressly for this purpose and it wasn’t also used to make smoothies for the employees or anything ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Yes, I’ve seen some buzz about Modernist Cuisine author Nathan Myhrvolds assertion that a blender is a better, faster tool for aerating wine than a decanter, and that 30 seconds at high speed does a better job. I can open the bottle with a chainsaw faster than with a corkscrew too, but that doesnt make it the better tool.
Over the years, I’ve seen countless devices that purport the use of crystals, magnets, glass straws or special metal stirrers and the like to help age or aerate a wine. I understand the desire for experimentation, and I relate to the spirit that we need to conquer science to make it work faster or more in our favor. I also get that wine has an air of mystique to it, and that means that people are either trying to play into that or debunk it.
But to me, it’s really quite simple. Open a wine and pour yourself a glass. If it seems like it needs some more air, you can decant it, or just enjoy watching it evolve in your glass. Will putting a wine in a blender aerate it? Absolutely. Faster? Sure. Better? I’m not so certain. It won’t make a bad wine magically good, and a very delicate older wine might have only a brief period—a matter of minutes—when the wine is in full bloom, as opposed to a younger wine, which could bloom for hours. Hyperdecanting could miss that magic moment, just as decanting it too soon would.
Hello there! Im Dr. Vinifera, but you can call me Vinny. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the fine points of etiquette to the science of winemaking. And dont worry, Im no wine snob—you can also ask me those “dumb questions” youre too embarrased to ask your wine geek friends! I hope you find my answers educational, empowering and even amusing. And dont forget to check out my most asked questions and my full archives for all my Q&A classics.
I would love your take on “hyperdecanting,” or decanting your wine in a blender. Decanting any wine this violently seems to fly in the face of common sense. Please give us your thoughts.
QI XS | What Happens When You Put Wine In A Blender?
FAQ
What does putting wine in a blender do?
How long does it take to aerate wine in a blender?
Is Hyperdecanting a real thing?
How long does wine last in a blender?
“Enthusiasts of blender-based wine decanting put red wine in the blender with the idea that the process ages it five years in 30 seconds. Some say that by exposing young wine to so much air it can quickly soften tannins.” Letting wine breathe, of course, is nothing new.
Can you use a blender to make wine?
The idea of using a blender is to get lots of air into the wine to help this happen faster. A similar effect can be achieved more gently by just emptying the bottle into a jug and letting it stand: hold the bottle completely upside down as it empties so it glugs and sloshes and gets plenty of air mixed in with it.
How does a wine Blender work?
Now, before you run away in horror, let us explain why this works. This technique is called hyper decanting — a term that was first coined by Nathan Myhrvold, the author of the Modernist Cuisine cookbook. The idea is that the blender aerates the wine and softens the tannins, meaning your wine will have more nuance.
Why are some wines not blended?
The simple explanation of why some wines are not blended is because they got all the characters they need. Adding another wine, even in a tiny percentage, can only spoil it. On the other hand, some wines are getting much better with the right addition. Typically, most wine blends are red.