Do you double decant before BYO to restaurants?

How often do you double decant before BYO?

  • Every chance I get (nearly 100% of the time)
  • Most of the time
  • Sometimes
  • Never (it’s tacky dude)

0 voters

Question for the masses: how often do you double decant your bottles before bringing the bottle out to a restaurant? I ask because I like to do this fairly often, but my wife thinks it’s tacky and embarrassing to walk in with an already opened bottle of wine. I see her point… but I do it anyways [berserker.gif]

How often do you double decant prior to BYO?

I do it with respect to virtually any bottle I bring where I think there may be sediment in the bottle. So, older reds - not whites or younger reds.

I chose sometimes because some wines I bring dont really need it or dont have the time. However, if the bottle is $$$$$ then I will put extra effort into experiencing the wine.

2001 Pavie on deck for tomorrow night’s wine dinner, alongside some bigger Napa and Paso Rhône competition… to DD or not DD…?

I like to if the wine is old or very young and I expect it to be tight.

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WE are often told in our state of Washington by restaurants that it’s not legal to do this (to bring an opened bottle to a restaurant). I still often try to do it with older reds. I check with the restaurant first. Or I do it and remove the capsule and ram the cork all the way back in flush–then it’s less obvious that it has been opened.

Getting the cork back down flush is the goal… sometimes older corks take too much of a beating to pull it off.

You can use a T cut to remove the capsule. You can put it back after double decanting and and it’s almost impossible to see what you’ve done.

High end Somm.-style! [highfive.gif]

Tell me more about this T cut…

…You mean Rudy K style!

Jk I would do this as well. And if it’s a mature bottle I would recork with a new cork to avoid problems

How to open a bottle of Red Wine - YouTube The T-cut is at 1:40. Foil replacement at 4:30.

Recorking with a new cork is a great idea. Make sure it doesn’t have TCA, though!

Who is jk?

Just kidding [cheers.gif]

I almost always drop my bottles off at least a few days in advance, especially older reds.
When I bring an older red on the same day, I try to keep the bottle(s) as steady as possible on the way to the restaurant. Don’t recall ever double decanting a BYO bottle.

Ditto

We have restaurants now that reject allowing bottles that have been opened. They site some unknown ordinance.
It is getting to be a little harder to double decant prior to going to a restaurant here in ATL.

I’ve called a local couple of restaurants who allow BYOB and they don’t allow it. I don’t have any bottles that really need it (some might be better with it) but not worth the risk/hassle . And I’m not adept enough to be able to hide it.

If I am going to a place that I frequent, I will always double decant a wine that I know needs the time to breathe or will throw sediment; if I am going someplace new, I just bring my aerator with built in screen (and hope for the best).

When we last discussed this I expressed concern about driving with an open container. The consensus was that I was paranoid but I remain concerned. I don’t see the benefit outweighing (the admittedly slight) risk. I’ll drink wines that need decanting at home or drop them off in advance.

I don’t often double decant, but I always open the bottle at home first to see if the wine is corked or otherwise tainted. I also don’t trust most restaurants to get old corks out. They use waiter’s friends and destroy corks quite frequently (of course, they do then decant through a filter). So I have no problem with bringing a previously opened bottle and I’ve never had a restaurant that allows BYOB look askance.

Put it in the trunk, problem solved. I do this all the time, either taking wine, or bringing wine (and used glasses that have wine residue, for that matter) home.