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Slideshow
Top 10 wine decanters
Why pour a fine wine from a simple bottle, or simple decanter for that matter, when it can be poured from a mouth-blown work of art?
When it comes to wine decanters there are some truly inspiring, elegant and unusual designs to choose from.
We have trawled the internet to find some of the best with glassware giant Riedel, known for its imaginative mouth-blown glass designs, leading the pack.
Scroll through to see which decanters caught our attention…
Riedel Horse Decanter
Price: £495.00 – Riedel
Glassware giant Riedel released its latest decanter earlier this year featuring a concave horse figure cleverly appearing to sip its contents. Designed by 11th-generation Riedel Crystal president and CEO, Maximilian Riedel, the 23 inch mouth-blown crystal decanter was inspired by the Chinese Year of the Horse and the famous Royal Lipizzans – a rare and aristocratic breed originating from Austria. The decanter’s concave profile is designed to oxygenate the wine.
Grand Coeur – Etienne Meneau
Price: €3,000 (£2,479)
The Grand Coeur is one in a series of decanters designed by French sculptor Etienne Meneauas part of her ‘Strange Carafes’ collection. Each of her carafes hold one bottle of wine and this one can be yours for just €3,000. This limited edition decanter, made from borosilicate glass, decanter stands at 32cm with just 12 made.
Rainman wine decanter by Skruf
Price: £49 – deskstore.com
The Rainman is a decanter made by Swedish firm Skruf with wine poured from eight small holes on the side of the vessel, producing a “showerhead-like” effect.
Heart (Cuore) decanter by Paola C.
Price: On request
Produced by Paola C, this unusual decanter comprises two glass carafes shaping a human heart when joined together intended to hold both water and wine. It is made from transparent blown pyrex and can hold 1 1/2 litres of both wine and water. Each carafe is hand blown by artist Tommaso Colesanti, and produced on request. For more information e-mail info@paolac.com.
Carafe N°5 – Etienne Meneau
Price: €2,500 (£2,066)
This bizarre and beautiful is another creation by Etienne Meneau as part of her ‘Strange Carafes’. Standing at 62cm in height, this showstopper of a table piece holds one bottle of wine channeled into its tree-root-like glass stems made from verre borosilicate glass. Just 12 of these limited edition pricey decanters were made and one could be yours for just €2,500.
Egg decanter – Sebastian Bergne
Price: $29 (as subscription) – designerbox.com
This egg-shaped decanter, designed by London-based artist Sebastian Bergne and sensibly named ‘egg’, can be positioned at an angle without tipping over thanks to its cork holder. When empty, the container stands upright. But when liquid is added the centre of gravity is lowered, allowing the top of the decanter to lean to a 45-degree angle without falling over. Of his creation Sebastian Bergne said: “I have been interested in eggs for some time. They are full of complications and meanings. It is in a lot of approaches perfection from the organic world.” Egg, made from borosilicate glass, was made as a project for Designerbox and is available as a one-off purchase on its website or as part of its subscription service.
Riedel Swan Decanter
Price: £395.00 – Riedel
Launched in 2008 Riedel’s swan decanter has been designed to mimic the curvature of Swan, forming “J” shape with an “exaggeratedly elongated straight neck that narrows to the elliptical lip”. The swan is mouth-blown and made of lead crystal and is capable of holding a standard 750ml bottle of wine.
Amadeo Doublemagnum Decanter
Price: £1,495.00 – Riedel
This limited edition Amadeo Doublemagnum Decanter is currently Riedel’s most expensive decanter priced at £1,495 and can hold an impressive 3-litres of wine. The decanter is free blown with three tuxedo stripes in Riedel’s corporate colours black-red-black.
This limited edition Amadeo Doublemagnum Decanter is currently Riedel’s most expensive decanter priced at £1,495 and can hold an impressive 3-litres of wine. The decanter is free blown with three tuxedo stripes in Riedel’s corporate colours black-red-black.
Riedel Escargot
Price: £175 – Riedel
Showing Riedel’s fun side, this Escargot decanter is hand blown in Austria shaped like a snail – perfect for an evening of French food and wine.
Twister wine aerator and decanter
Price: £56 – williams-sonoma.com
This twister decanter introduces maximum oxygen to your favourite bottle through its easy to use spiral aerator. Its patented design is hand blown is described as a “three-phase” glass aerator first catching any sediment, oxygenating the wine before directing its into its decanter.
A mysterious message coming from nowhere…
Those are some very special decanters, that’s for sure! But I wonder how useful the carafes from Etienne Meneau really are since decanters aren’t used only for displaying the wine but also to help the aeration process as well as separation of the sediment. The Rainman decanter looks interesting though. I guess there is quite some aeration going on when using it. Although it might get a bit messy, right? And last but not least, I really like the egg shaped decanter. Makes for a nice display of your spirits.
Kind regards from another wine lover 🙂