To decant is one of the steps taken to prepare a wine, the aim of the process is to separate a mixture, move the liquid from one container to another so that it removes the sediments.
This requires a wine decanter, a container used to oxygenate while removing sediment from older wines. The decanters were called amphorae, in Greek and Roman times, at that time in history were used by the servants to serve the wine easier to guests at parties. Currently decanters are made of glass, but before the Renaissance they were made in metal.
One question that comes to everyone in head to get to know the process of decanting is:
Why decant and aerate the wine? Wine, being oxygenated in the passage of a container to another releases its aromas, it is necessary because they have been stored in barrels or bottles for a long time.
When decanting a young wine, you should open the bottle and pour it into the decanter, ensuring that the wine falls one side of the neck of the decanter.
When decanting old wine, follow other steps as it has sediments, then you need a light or candle to observe sediment and to prevent them from leaving with the rest of the wine. Open the bottle and empty slowly watching with light when sediments start to get the neck of the bottle. Stop and so on until the wine has been decanted in its entirety.
Despite the benefits of decanting wine, it is also true that when you move the wine in your glass or decanter it oxidizes more rapidly and loses alcohol, so after being decanted the wine should be consumed within hours to appreciate its aroma and flavor.
A decanter should never be washed with soap; you should wash it with mineral water, a mixture of broken ice and rock salt.
By: Lucas B.
***Grabbed from: http://blog.uvinum.co.uk/how-to-decant-wine-2334267