You open the bottle in the basket, and you can adjust the angle of the bottle so that the wine won’t spill: the fuller the bottle’s fill, the more acute the angle needs to be, so I put a cork or two in the basket to prop up the bottle a bit. The advantages of the basket really come with old wines that have thrown a deposit, and such wines typically have a bit of ullage meaning that this isn’t much of an issue.
Then, to pour, you hold the handle of the basket and pour slowly. The inertia of the bottle seems to be sufficient to stop any sudden movements that would disturb sediment - I can go round the table, pouring for everyone, without the wine getting shaken up. The advantage of the old fashioned looking baskets is that the handle makes this easy, and also that the bottle doesn’t have much opportunity to slip out (no broken decanters, etc).
These baskets, while “not contemporary” are much better than many I’ve seen. I would think a little more modern material and twist on this design could sell very well.
At berns with all the bottles we ordered, were you only staring into my eyes the whole time and didn’t notice any of the corks being popped in the baskets?
I was gonna put a PS on my first post, as yea, been to Bern’s a gazillion times but cannot say that I am mesmerized by the service, I focus on my friends! Not sure if they use a Durand though, do they? I was sitting in front of Kane, he’s got dreamy blue eyes.
For old ones such as these, it’s a buyer’s market: I pay around 20 EUR a pop for them in French antique shops. No one really knows what they’re for and I think people assume they’re just decorative.
I decant using a homemade basket of sorts after pulling a bottle carefully from horizontal storage. So these functions are not mutually exclusive. [Edit: wrote this before catching up on this thread]
The Amazon designs above don’t look like they allow a smooth stable pouring action to be able to do what o would need a basket for.
I am now thinking about designing my own although the first Etsy one looks pretty good. Back when I worked at a scientist and made or designed and commissioned metal shop work, this would have been an easy and somewhat inexpensive thing to make, even custom. The Nomad model is ridiculously expensive for what it is. I saw it a few months ago on Instagram and couldn’t believe the price.
Depends on the cradle and why you’re using it. If you’re decanting, taking the bottle out of the cradle is usually preferable. If you’re pouring straight out of the bottle without decanting (let’s say for “fragile” wine that you don’t want to decant, like really old Burgundy for example), pouring from the cradle is fine, but you accept the “risk” of more sediment.
To properly decant, lift the bottle out, because:
Safety - don’t trust cradles. You can pour out a cradle, but the bottle can slide around and pretty violently move once you get to the end if you’re not careful. If you insist on pouring pour of the cradle (with or without a napkin inside to stabilize the bottle), make sure to place your thumb on the bottle to prevent it from moving. I’ve seen bottles smash decanters and glasses because the sommelier didn’t secure it. Not fun.
Visibility - Assuming the wine hasn’t been double decanted, it will be hard to see the sediment approaching the neck if it’s in a cradle. This is why when decanting you put a light source, traditionally a candle but a LED light works well, behind the bottle.
It also depends on the cradle. With for examplethe the more modern Sambonnet one I linked above) you obviously would just lift the bottle off the cradle and pour. Getting a bottle in and out of a wicker basket does require some movement and therefore risk of stirring up the sediment, so if you’re not decanting, pouring from the cradle is preferred. Pro tip: If using a wicker basket, always carefully “thread” the basket around the bottle instead of putting the bottle into the basket. Minimizing movement is the goal.
Tipping the basked at the edge of a table is a great method, often used to assess the wine before decanting, although if you’re really serious about it and serve a lot of old wine, a pipette is the best wine service tool $5 will buy.
I recently shot some tutorials on decanting (and other sommelier related stuff). Hopefully they’re released soon and I’ll link them here. I often see it done poorly even by professionals who clearly haven’t understood why they’re doing what they’re doing. The other night I had a sommelier carefully carry a 1970’s Barolo like a baby only to then stand it up to remove the cork (way too violently), and then put it into a cradle to decant. Like… what?!?
EDIT:
Found an old video tutorial I shot for a client, in which I show decanting and using a Durand. Unfortunately not from the cradle but it really doesn’t change that much of the operation. The only real thing to look out for when opening a bottle in a cradle, whether with a Durand or regular corkscrew is to not pull the cork straight out, as you’ve created a bit of vacuum behind it. If you pull it out, air will get sucked in, wine will spray out. So be careful and angle/twist the cork out once you get to the very end of it.
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Is there any wine question William cannot answer. 