The Piper's Winery

Presents;

"The Ancient Arte of Wine Decanting"

Old History: The world acknowledges that, finding a container for wine started civilization.

Once the earthen jug held enough wine to protect, walled cities were needed to keep it safe

and riting and rithmetic were necessary to know where and how much wine was available.

Within days of placing wine in the first jug, the ancient Babling-onians, realized they had

to make it smell better and look cleaner. Since no one knew anything about filtering,

decanting was the only solution.

In short decanting is simply letting gravity pull the heavy stuff to the bottom leaving the

lighter material available for separation by draining.

Now the word"decant" is not that old. The French invented the word"decantare" to add

some class to the concept of pouring, and the ancients tell us a Scottish Piper shortened it.

With the passing of so many years and containers of wine, who can be sure?

Younger History: As time went on earthen jugs were replaced by lead containers. After

the lead made the Roman Civilization crazy, a Venetian came up with the idea of using

some sand that had melted, to form a container. Wa-La some blow hard blew air into the

sticky stuff and the bottle was born. Everyone agreed glass was better than dirt or lead

because you could see the stuff you were trying to decant.

When I was a young boy in the Fifties of the 1900s I observed that just about anybody

who tried to be somebody, decanted their wine.

There were all kinds of implements used to rest the bottle and concentrate the wee solid

parts in the lower bottom edge of the bottle.

By that time glass bottles had, bottled up the market, so to speak.

The reason folks were still decanting was because the wine makers did not know anything

about filtering. A very old problem.

Time was a changing and filters became the way to get rid of those pesky solid particles.

To Decant or Not to Decant.

As often happens improvements are a compromise. Filtering made it easier to sell the wine

because now the makers could sell to so many more people. There are a finite number of

decantories. This meant big stainless steel vats, pumps, laboratories within which you learn

all there is to know about parts per million. Besides we had to hurry up to drink as much

as possible before it was too late.

First when the filter arrived out went the business of making the wine smell better and

getting rid of that stuff. Did I say smell better?

Yes indeed, no matter the wine, aeration before drinking, improves the smell. When you

pour the wine, from the closed bottle to an open bottle air removes odoriferous things

your nose will not appreciate. It sort of quites the smell.

Secondly, the filters work best for white wine. the whole idea of making a white wine is

getting the stuff out of it.

We begin by taking out all the skins and ferment only the juice. To make a red wine you

leave the crushed grape in the mix.

Filtering can make a red wine white, so turn down the filter and leave some of that stuff

in there. Filtering takes out taste, yes it do, because water and alcohol do not taste. The

stuff ( the parts of the grapes) makes the taste.

Parts is parts and when you take them out they are not there anymore.

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The Piper's Great Highland Wine: Our wine is from the oldest traditions. The pipes are

old, but not as old as wine. We make our wine the natural way. No addatives except water,

and no sulfites added, and certainly we do not takeany of the stuff out.

The taste and smell is there. Decanting makes the drinking better and the tradition is like

a warm blanket on a cold day!