DECANT

To draw off the upper layer of liquid after the heaviest material (a solid or another liquid) has settled. Decanting is also a chemical laboratory method used to separate mixtures. In its most rudimentary form, it simply means allowing a combination of hard and liquidized, or two insoluble beverages to rest and dissolve by using gravity. This technique can be gradual and long without the resource of a centrifuge. Decanting includes the separation of the liquid part away from the immiscible solid part. The most usual examples of decantation are water that is poured away (decanted) from wtihin peas, potatoes, carrots, etc. If left by itself for more than a couple of years then wine will begin to develop sediments.