Wine Terms - Decanting

Decanting is a method used when good bottled wine has been aged in a cellar. Basically, as wine ages it sometimes gathers a setiment at the bottle's bottom. In order to avoid drinking the setiment, the wine is poured slowly from it's original bottle into a glass decanter before being served. The process is done almost solely with red wines, because whites don't tend to accumulate sediment. A candle is held beneath the neck of the bottle so the pourer can see and prevent pouring the setiment into the decanter. Apparently, they use a candle because the softer light is mellow enough that it doesn't strain the eyes and you can watch the neck more closely.