The art and ritual of decanting very old red wines is such a classic image, but one fraught with pitfalls.

The general idea is to let that red wine breathe, as if without decanting the wine would suffocate. Older red wines are cooped up in bottles for decades, and letting a bit of air into the liquid breathes a bit of life into it, allowing the wine to expand and deliver its complexities.

Such an act also allows us to pour the wine off the sediment that usually forms in older wines, so we can drink a clear liquid unimpeded by sludge.

There are problems with this scenario. For one thing, too much air can actually ruin very old red wine, so decanting should not be done without some knowledge of the wine. Moreover, these days and for the last decade or two, most winemakers have been treating wines so there is very little if any sediment.

And then there is my fascination with the fact that almost no one, except me and a few other weird people, decants white wines.

White wines? I can hear you saying. Whats that all about?

In the last few years, a lot of winemakers worldwide have become almost paranoid about cleanliness, to the point where they are adding a bit of sulfur dioxide to wines before bottling to retain the wines freshness and keep out bugs that could create off aromas. White wines get a bit more sulfur than do reds.

Because there is no real harm from this level of sulfur in wine, there is no danger to health, but in some white wines the sulfur can add a faint trace of rotten egg or natural gas to the aroma. This is unnerving to those who are sensitive to it.

And I am.

Moreover, with natural corks in the bottles, sulfur-dioxide can decline, but it doesnt decline much in wine bottles that are screwcapped or sealed with synthetic corks.

Because both are used more and more, especially in some lower-priced wines, I have smelled a lot more sulfur in young, fresh white wines. Continued...