Sediment often indicates that a wine is old and was made to retain its quality and evolve its flavours over time. Sediment is actually formed as pigments and tannins that are naturally present in the wine break down. This is all part of the aging process for a bottle, and is a good indicator that a wine is well aged.

Unfortunately sediment is very bitter and can easily ruin an otherwise lovely glass of wine. Therefore steps must be taken to keep the sediment from making its way into the glass. First of all, stand the bottle upright and allow it to rest for at least 24 hours. This will allow the sediment to drift towards the bottom of the bottle. The next step is to decant the bottle, paying special attention to stop pouring the wine into the decanter once the sediment has reached the mouth of the bottle. This will keep the sediment in the bottle where it belongs and the wine tasting great.