You "decant" a red wine. What is it called when you pour a white wine into a decanter or carafe?

Question

There is actually a term for when we pour white wines into decanters and that term is not "decant." Many of us do pour white wines into decanters both to help it breath and for aesthetics. I am not asking if we should or when we should, but what is the term.

Let me try again. We "decant" red wines in order to separate the sediment from the wine, but since white wines do not have sediment, we cannot "decant' them. On the other hand, many of us do pour our white wines into decanters in oder to help them breathe and for aesthetics. There is actually a specific term for the practice of pouring white (as opposed to red) wine into decanters and that term is not "decant" but I cannot remember that term.

Answer 1

I see from the answers you received a great deal of non-related information to your question. The answer is "deflor." A French word meaning " to open up or lay in the open." By the way, most white wine decanters are narrow and have a tall neck. My experience in Europe with deflor white wine involved placing deflor wine in the refrigerator for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Always remember, as chilled white wine adjusts to room temperature, its' true essence is released.

Answer 2

You hit on a big debate, The problem is the decanting vessel its self.
The Decanter is used in decanting and breathing.
Decanting is the process in which bottle sediment is separated from wine, and breathing is the practice of allowing air and wine to naturally mix for a brief period in a decanter, improving the flavor of the aerated wine.

So long story short you can decant a white wine to let it breath and improve on its flavor

Answer 3

A waste of time. Just kidding, but seriously it is not really necessary most of the time. Most white wine is enjoyed young, not really needing to breathe too much, and the sediment is not an issue with white wine. There are white wines that are aged or age-worthy, but most of the time decanting is not necessary.

LAUGHTERNFORGETTING:

EDIT PLEASE SEE:

From what I can tell by research and based on my experience the act of decanting is not just for the sediment, but also to aerate the wine and soften it. There is much fining and clarifying of modern wine, but some still prefer to decant anyways.
Regardless of color the term "decanting" seems to remain notice the use in these three seperate examples:

From
http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/from-lab-to-table/
"Most people rarely think of decanting white wines, but I’ve become a big proponent of this. Almost any good young white wine will be very tight when poured directly from the bottle. Decanting will not do the job of five years of aging, but the air absorbed by the wine as it is transferred to the vessel helps to unclench flavors and aromas."

From
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/food/la-fo-decant23nov23,1,4735018.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-food
"Red wines benefit the most, but Graves believes that white wines can improve with decanting as well. "A huge California Chardonnay can even out and calm down after decanting," says Graves. "Besides, decanting never hurts a white wine."

From
http://www.thewinedoctor.com/advisory/openservedecanting.shtml
"Young wines also benefit from decanting, although the aim is not to take the wine off its sediment (there is rarely any such sediment in young wines), but rather to aerate the wine. The action of decanting itself, and the large surface area in contact with the air in the decanter, alters the wine, softening its youthful bite and encouraging the development of the more complex aromas that normally develop with years in bottle. "

I wish I could help you find the term you are looking for, I know how frustrating it is to have something on "the tip of the tongue." Knowing your frustration I have spent about a half hour on your question!
Take care, Cheers!

Answer 4

Beats me! Pouring? There's not sediment in white wines. I can't remember ever watching anyone decant a white. Especially not the double decant...that would constitute a costly vinegar, actually.

Answer 5

"Decanting" is the act of pouring from the decanter, not what is poured. Now whether there's any merit to doing it with whites versus reds, that's up for debate...but the term is still the same.

Answer 6

it is still called decanting. but largely uncessary for a white. whites are not generally old enough to have sediment in the bottle, which would warrant decanting in the first place.

Answer 7

Exactly the same.

Decanting a white wine is not as common as with with reds, but is done for the same reasons, primarily to aerate the wine and for display.

Answer 8

My guess is Friday night.