When do I decant a wine and how?

If a wine is likely to have a deposit, stand the bottle upright for at least an hour, preferably overnight, before pouring the wine carefully until you see the sediment appear at the bottle's shoulder.

Wine with some bottle age should also be decanted or there is a good chance that it will be closed and not reveal too much of its attributes and/or potential at first. 

Remember not to leave very old and more fragile wines in a decanter for too long, however.

There is an argument that most wines beenfit from decanting - especially reds. 

For more detailed advice, please refer to the serving wine section of the website.