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I have the first one (I got it after I saw it posted on this site a few months ago) and I love it! I especially like the oak stopper--it helps to keep those wine-loving gnats away. Not to mention that it really does improve the taste of less expensive wine (aka two buck chuck!). And with a $30 price tag, you can't beat that!

We use a Erlenmeyer Flask - it's modern, super cheap, we throw it in the dishwasher and it's not something that breaks easily.

You forgot the creme de la creme, the Riedel Eve:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TOCY7S/ref=asc_df_B001TOCY7S937510?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=googlecom09c9-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B001TOCY7S

LOVE the idea of an Erlenmeyer flask!

Can someone please explain why you'd use a decanter? I guess I'm not fancypants enough to know :)

Criv227 - to let it "breathe" and get the desired flavor. Kind of the same effect as swirling it around in a glass or warming it with your hand.

(Learned that from my roommate, who also scolds me when I drink it from a coffee mug :/ )

Actually the purpose of a decanter is to separate the sediment from the wine, so you don't get the stuff in your glass. Wine "breathes" just fine in a regular wine glass. It's mostly done for show now.

Wine does breathe in a wine glass, but if you decant the entire bottle then all of it gets a chance to wake up rather than just the bit that's in your glass. So, the wine is nicer quicker. The decanter has a greater surface area than the bottle does so it's more effective than leaving the bottle open. (Btw you only do this for red wine.)

mjr, when people talk about 'breathing' with regards to a decanter, they mean letting the wine sit and oxidate for a while to open up the wine a bit. Most wines that are sold today are meant for immediate consumption and should not need to be decanted. But many wines are meant to be aged or are very structured and may benefit from decanting. Essentially, what happens when a wine is aged is that small amounts of oxygen enter the bottle through the cork. When wine is exposed to oxygen, it oxidates. Eventually, this will ruin the wine (why wine will taste bad if you leave it for a couple of days), but in small amounts it can actually open up the subtleties of the wine. When you decant a wine, you are attempting to 'age' the wine a bit, only much faster. While swirling your wine in your glass has a similar effect, it operates on a much smaller scale. Swirling also has the effect of releasing the aroma of the wine, which is where much of the flavor is contained.

Mpls, thank you for your thorough explanatioin of what people mean when they say "breating". *rolls eyes*

I learned a thing or 2 when opening a restaurant years ago with a Parisian chef and French Sommelier.

You basically restated my point that decanting is mostly done for show nowadays:

"Most wines that are sold today are meant for immediate consumption and should not need to be decanted."

While you went into further detail about oxidation, I was talking about the real reason to decant wine, which is to separate the sediment from the wine. Again, MOST wine does not need any further enhancement than simply sitting in the glass it is being enjoyed from.