Like all good rumor mills, the wine industry is alive and well with misinformation. In the last few years, I've had the opportunity to host a wine tasting or two. I am always amazed at some of the crazy things people have been told about wine. It's like a game of telephone gone horribly wrong. The "legs" become "arms", anything over $50 is automatically "good" and so on. Often times I smile and nod when it would be inappropriate to correct someone, but when time allows I do try to offer a different (okay, correct) perspective on the details. I feel a small responsibility to debunk some common untruths about wine. In a continued effort to educate the average wine consumer, I give you...
Private Pour's Wine Lies 101:
1. Nice Legs = Nice Wine
While they are admittedly pleasing to the eye, nice "legs" (or tears) on a wine glass are not an indicator of quality. The most they can tell you about the wine is the cleanliness of a glass in relation to the evaporation rate of the alcohol in the wine.
2. Screwcap = Wine Crap
Although many wine purists (myself included), enjoy the tradition and romance of unlocking the life of a bottle sealed with a cork, there is strong evidence showing screwcaps are really the best way to preserve a wine. In most cases, air is only good for a bottle of wine once it's opened. Therefore, the stelvin (screwcap) enclosure not only prevents any air from leaking into the wine, but you also forego the chance of getting a corked bottle (for more on that click here). For this reason, many great wineries are now using screwcaps.
Fun Fact: Over 75% of Australian wines use screwcaps.
It does look fancy on a label, but in the U.S. there are no regulations in terms of quality when it comes to using the term "reserve." Other misnomers include; "Special Selection", "Proprietor's Reserve", "Private Reserve" and so on. While some wineries do use the term for, presumably, their best blends or single vineyard productions, if a wine is labeled "reserve" and it's on the bottom shelf, be suspect.
Maybe the worst bastardization of tradition and history in the wine world. Here's a quick explanation:
- Generally speaking, Old World wines are named by region (i.e. Champagne, Chianti, Rioja, etc.)
- Generally speaking, New World wines are named by grape (Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Merlot)
- Therefore, only a *sparkling* wine from the Champagne region of France is truly Champagne. Anywhere else in the world, it's sparkling wine.
(For more on the definitions of "Old World" and "New World" wines, check this out.)
Would you believe that more than 90 percent of all the wines made in the world are meant to be consumed during the first year of their release? We are instant gratification consumers - no one goes to the shelf at the local grocery thinking, "I can't wait to throw this pinot noir in my wine cellar for 10 years." They want to pick up a bottle to celebrate a dinner, a birthday, a Tuesday night. When a winery waits to release their 2010 vintage until 2014, they have done the bottle aging for the consumer so that the wine is ready to drink when it comes to market. In addition, less than 1 percent of the world's wine should be aged for more than five years, but don't worry, that 1 percent accounts for more than 350 million bottles of wine each vintage.
These are both true statements, but did you know that white wine can be made from red grapes? Ever peel a grape? The flesh of even red grapes, is white. The contact of the skins with the must (or juice) is what makes red wine, red. The longer the juice has contact with the skins, the deeper and darker the color.
7. The more expensive a wine, the better it tastes...the less expensive a wine, the worse it tastes:
Each one of us has our own unique standard for taste. No one and no wine score can determine for us what is good or bad. There are many inexpensive wines on the market that drink just as well as some of the most expensive bottles I've enjoyed. For instance, a wine from a lesser known region than say, Napa Valley, may be of the same or better quality, but they've just got the wrong zip code - and who wants to pay more just for a zip code?
Okay, I feel better now. You too? Good.
The more you know...
Each one of us has our own unique standard for taste. No one and no wine score can determine for us what is good or bad. There are many inexpensive wines on the market that drink just as well as some of the most expensive bottles I've enjoyed. For instance, a wine from a lesser known region than say, Napa Valley, may be of the same or better quality, but they've just got the wrong zip code - and who wants to pay more just for a zip code?
Okay, I feel better now. You too? Good.
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