If you drink wine, then you will need a crystal wine decanter. A decanter provides vital oxygen to red wines. This is especially necessary when a wine has been set aside for a long time, because it aerates the flavor and removes that unpleasant bitterness, that edge which sets into a shelved wine. If you are or intend to be a drinker of fine wines, you cannot go without a decanter. And there are no better decanters than crystal decanters.
A crystal decanter is classic style. This is especially true of leaded crystal, as many purists will be quick to tell you. You must be careful with leaded crystal, of course, not to misuse the decanter. A decanter is designed for aeration and presentation, not storage. A wine should not spend more than a few hours in a decanter, and certainly not months. If you misuse a crystal decanter and store wine in it for long periods, lead may leach into the wine, which can be hazardous to your health. (Also be sure to store empty crystal decanters away from children, who may be harmed by lead more easily.)
If you want to avoid the whole question of crystal decanters, you could try a normal glass decanter. These will be very inexpensive and there will be no dangers of lead, but of course normal glass lacks the luster and sparkle of true crystal. This is not ideal, especially not if you will be serving guests from your decanter. You must have only the finest. If you want crystal, but still want to avoid the dangers of lead, there is also lead-free crystal, made with barium oxide instead of lead oxide. This is generally quite expensive, but it retains the sparkle and oscillating ring of true crystal.
If you decide to stick with leaded crystal, of course, you should go with one of the classic manufacturers: Waterford Crystal, Steuben Glass Works, Swarovski, or Baccarat Crystal. Only the best can make true crystal into truly fine wine decanters.
