Wine Decanters
Drinking with all senses
Manufactures of decanters and other wine accessories are often too focused on getting their respective products to deliver on functionality - to the detriment of aesthetic design. They seem to forget that wine drinking is an experience encompassing all the senses, with the eyes playing an important part. Often the result is utensils that you wouldn't want to include on a table laid with silverware.
But where decanting, aerating, filtering and removing sediment can all be a bit laborious when you just want to pop the cork and drink the wine already, proper serving, on the other hand, is the proud host's art.
Peugeot, the car company that also specialises in glassware and wine accessories, deserves praise for managing to keep the balance just right - beautiful products that deliver a decent service too. The emphasis is very much on the former, though, based on the two classy products reviewed here.
The Capitaine Decanter boasts a traditional, elegant design incorporating a long, narrow neck and broad, flat base. Mostly suited to young, red wines, it is desirable on its own but its look and purpose are substantially enhanced when combined with Peugeot's other accessories. We paired it with the Victorien Decanting Funnel, made from shiny pewter and apparently "inspired by a 19th century original".
Looking like a cup designed for royalty, its wide mouth directs wine down a concave tube into the neck of the decanter. Because it has two filters - a flat filter designed to trap light sediment and a domed filter for heavy sediment - its aim is to facilitate the best possible enjoyment of mature red wines.
Upon testing, the funnel's filters managed to trap most sediment - adequately achieving its purpose, apart from making a statement - and we were left satisfactorily impressed. Especially considering that when combined with the Capitaine decanter, you have a kit suitable for serving reds of any age.
The Capitaine Decanter retails for R345 and the Victorien Decanting Funnel for R693. Both are available from Culinary Equipment Company. Tel 011 701 2200 or 021 418 0860.
Got a gizmo worthy of review? Mail Jeanri- Tine van Zyl at jeanri@ramsaymedia.co.za.
