There’s nothing worse than popping open an older bottle of wine and pouring a glass only to be met with a pile of sediment in the precious liquid. Typically appearing in wines over 10 years old, sediment is nothing to worry about; it’s merely a byproduct of the fermentation process. But while it’s safe to consume, it’s not necessarily pleasurable. That’s where decanting comes in.
While decanting is often done to allow a wine to “breathe” before it is served, the process also does a fine job of removing any pesky sediment before it hits your glass. Traditionally done by slowly and steadily pouring a wine bottle’s contents into a larger vessel and allowing it to rest, decanting can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. But if you’re in a hurry to enjoy your sediment-free bottle, there’s a lowbrow hack for speeding up the process that’s gotten some extra attention thanks to Netflix’s “The Gentlemen.”
In the crime-comedy’s pilot episode, American businessman Stanley Johnston requests his 2002 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (which carries a hefty $31,0000 price tag) be decanted through a coffee filter before it’s served. The unconventional technique struck a nerve with wine lovers, some of whom argued that filtering the prized bottle in such a manner was sacrilege. But we were curious if there’s any merit to the approach, especially when pressed for time. To learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of filtering wine through a coffee filter, we tapped Annie Edgerton, wine and spirits educator and host of the podcast “Wine Minx: Uncorked.”
Technically, it’s possible to decant this way. But rather than imbuing the wine with the same benefits as traditional decanting, the coffee filter will merely filter out any undesirable sediment. And as Edgerton explains, you’ll also end up with less wine than you started with.
“You can [decant through a coffee filter], but be aware that it will absorb a large amount of liquid,” Edgerton says. “So it’s a tradeoff: you may lose some wine, but you might be able to drink more in the long run if there’s a lot of sediment.”
Sediment can appear in any wine no matter its color, though older bottles of Merlot, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, and Port often have a fair amount of accumulation. Skin-contact wines are also known for their extra residue given the low-intervention techniques used during production. So while decanting these wines may be in your best interest — especially if you’re sensitive to gritty lees — a coffee filter isn’t the most efficient tool. Not only do you risk losing the liquid you paid good money for, but the process can get messy. According to Edgerton, multiple filters might be necessary to filter out all the dregs and mitigate dripping or spilling.
Potential pitfalls aside, decanting through a coffee filter is unlikely to adversely affect a wine’s flavor profile or structure. As such, almost any type of filter can be used to complete the process, so long as it’s unbleached and has not previously been used. However, while the hack can be applied relatively effectively, Edgerton advises only giving it a try when all else has failed.
“Due to the mess and the loss of liquid, [there are] not many wines I would filter. I’ll usually use a decanter or do a careful pour,” she says. “But I have used a coffee filter on very old Madeira as the sediment was all over the place and didn’t settle on its own. The coffee filter was the only way I could salvage that last inch or two of the bottle, I didn’t want to leave a drop behind! But in most cases, I’d turn to a coffee filter only as a last resort.”
Given the threat of losing any of our beloved liquid, you’re unlikely to see us coffee filter-straining our bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti any time soon — or ever. But the hack is worth remembering should you wish to enjoy some sediment-free vino without waiting an hour or two.
