Opening and Serving Guide

Taking care when opening and serving Henschke wines will help elevate your tasting experience and ensure you are enjoying your wine to its full potential.

When to Decant Your Wine


Young red wines under screwcap or Vinolok glass stopper are best decanted before serving to ‘open up’ the wine and allow it to breathe. Occasionally we double-decant wines, but we prefer not to use aerators as they can be too aggressive on the wine. Young and full-bodied white wines, especially chardonnay, can also benefit from a gentle decant before serving.

How to Decant Your Wine



Older wines must be treated gently. To settle sediment, stand the bottle up gently and leave it for a few hours in cool, dark conditions. As old corks can crumble, it is best to use a two-pronged cork puller. If the cork still crumbles, carefully decant through a fine tea strainer or gauze.   To remove sediment, mark 700ml on a decanter before gently pouring in the wine up to the marker. Pour the remaining wine into a glass and wait to see if the sediment settles, otherwise discard it. 

Aged Wine and Decanting

Aged wines can lose some of their aromas and flavours fairly quickly after they have been opened and poured. Good quality wines can be poured back into the bottle, resealed and kept overnight. They are best stored in the fridge, as the cold temperature slows oxidation.

Allow 1 - 4 hours

if your wine is less than 10 years

Allow 30 mins - 1 hour

if your wine is 10-20 years

Serve immediately

if your wine is 20 years or older

Serving Temperatures




Sparkling wine
Well chilled
6 - 10°C
Sweet wine
Well chilled
6 - 8°C
Light/full-bodied white wine
Chilled
7 - 10°C
Medium/full-bodied, aged white wine
Lightly chilled
10 - 13°C
Light-bodied red wine
Lightly chilled
3°C
Medium/full-bodied red wine
Room temperature
15 - 18°C
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