The Art of Decanting: ETO x Artelium
ETO Copper Satin with Artelium’s Rosé 2023, pictured on Artelium’s terrace.
Picture this: it’s a warm summer’s evening, a feast is cooking in the kitchen, you’ve laid the table out in the garden with seasonal flowers and linen napkins; you’re awaiting guests for an evening of conversation, delicious food and fine wine. Wines have been selected to compliment your dishes: a chardonnay with leaks, a pinot noir with high-quality beef. You want the wine to sing, to be at its best, to bring out the flavour compounds in the food you’ve carefully prepared. There is no better way to achieve this than to decant it into a beautiful vessel, primed to clarify, soften and release the aromas.
Decanting with ETO
“Almost every wine benefits from decanting - from youthful reds and tightly wound whites to mature bottles that need clarity” says Tom Cotton, founder and inventor of ETO. “At its core, wine is about enjoyment and bringing people together. The best wine experiences often aren't just about the bottle - they're about who you share it with, the conversations, the laughter, the moments around the table.” Like Artelium, ETO was born from a desire to enhance these precious wine moments.
The spark for ETO came from those familiar occasions when life gets in the way of finishing a bottle. “We had young children at the time, and we’d often open wine but not finish it. I wanted to create something that worked beautifully and looked good on the table - something that made it easier to enjoy wine, whenever you felt like a glass.”
BBQ leeks with romesco and hazelnuts and Artelium’s Chardonnay, 2023
ETO Copper Mirror alongside Artelium’s Pinot Noir, 2023, pictured in the vineyard.
Young Wines: Unlocking Hidden Potential
With youthful, structured reds - like Artelium’s Pinot Noir, 2023 - decanting can work magic. “Pour the whole bottle into ETO,” Tom advises. “That initial exposure to air helps unlock aromas and soften the structure. Over an hour or so, the wine begins to show its complexity - without the wait of years in a cellar.”
This also applies to certain whites, particularly those that feel closed or ‘tight’ on first taste. “If a chardonnay seems muted, decant it into ETO. It can open up beautifully.”
With ETO, you can gently separate the sediment using a slow, steady pour - ideally against a light source. Once decanted, ETO’s precision-engineered seal halts the oxidation process, keeping the wine in pristine condition. This means that if you don’t finish the bottle, the wine can be kept and preserved to enjoy at your leisure, making that glass on a sunny evening taste as good as a freshly opened bottle.
ETO Gold Mirror & Artelium’s Chardonnay 2023 alongside a feast cooked by chef Michael on the Artelium terrace. Book a table
The Joy of Sharing Great Wine
“For us, unwinding usually involves good food, having friends over, and, of course, a few good bottles of wine,” Tom shares. “I love pairing wines with meals and sharing stories around the table. Good food, wine, music, with some good friends and family - there’s no better way to unwind.”
Just as Julie and Mark created a place where creativity, craftsmanship, and collaboration come together, Tom sees wine as a way to bring people together - whether at wine tastings, seasonal feasts, or intimate gatherings at home.
