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10 November 2017

Wine Myths Debunked

Anyone worth their grapes knows a good wine from a bad wine – not all wines are created equal. Those of us who aren’t exactly experts might not be sure what exactly makes a good wine, what separates a beautifully crafted bottle of fine vintage from supermarket swill? Jargon like ‘legs’, 'Australian red wine' and ‘punts’ can confuzzle the conscious and leave one feeling a bit out of their depth in the great ocean of wine appreciation. Never fear, we are here to provide you with the paddles to sail across this new world of hard to pronounce French names and fermenting grapes.

‘Big Legs mean a Legs-xcellent Wine’

The slow dip of wine oozing down the side of the glass is called by wine connoisseurs ‘legs’. After a swirl of the glass, it can be assumed that the bigger the legs, the better the quality. However, this, in fact, denotes the higher concentration of alcohol which causes the wine to hang to the side of the glass, and nothing more.

‘Screw screwcaps, the best wines have corks!’

Everyone loves a good pop of a cork as you open a fresh bottle of wine, so it’s quite understandable that screw caps are looked down upon from their cork clogged brethren. However, it’s an absolute falsification that corks mean a better wine. Upsides to a screw cap is easy resealing, and no mouldy taste from infection as it's more secure than cork. However, screw tops may contain more CO2, gas can’t escape the bottle, giving the bottle a good share after opening the bottle will sort that problem.

‘You must spend big bucks to get decent wine’

It’s not always the case with good value wine, perfectly delicious Australian red wine can be found all over the high street at completely reasonable prices. Of course, there is going to be a difference between supermarkets own swill and hundreds of pound bottles, but you can get a decent bottle for around £10.

‘A big dimple means a fine wine.’

The dimple in the bottom end of the bottle is called a punt, and it signifies that the manufacturer has spent more money producing the bottle, and this is often assumed to correlate with the quality of the content. However, it is not so, and a big punt should not be taken as a better, wine, just means the winery has spent more resources on a punty bottle.

'All the best wine is French'

In modern times we all know this to not necessarily be the case. While France has an air of prestige to its wine industry, many counties make excellent wine. Australian red wine can be particularly good if its bought from a good winery. The 2008 wine comedy-drama Bottle Shock is all about how great wine can come from all corners of the globe.