Grapevine: Myth-busting Wine Precepts Analyzed Against Internet Ambiguities
In past columns, I’ve addressed a number of wine-related “truisms” to determine their veracity. Anecdotal history and current colloquialisms, while not valid for empirical conclusions, nevertheless seem to wend their way into mainstream thought and become embedded in the vernacular of our times.
Google searches are of minimal assistance in quelling half-truths or urban legends. The Internet is inundated with “facts” that are not vetted and is at the mercy of every blogger who presents him or herself as an authoritative source. In many cases, this body of knowledge is subject to manipulation – and a blind faith that is not warranted.
What is fact and what is fiction? What is truth and what is myth?
I’ve randomly selected several topics and present them in no particular order of importance or relevancy.
- A bottle of wine must breathe before it is poured.
In fact, this does nothing for the wine. Leaving an opened bottle of wine on the table simply delays your drinking of the wine. The truth is that certain red wines do need time to breathe, but pulling the cork and letting the bottle sit is like sitting in a stuffy airplane and expecting the air to become fresh simply by opening the forward hatch.
To enjoy the pent-up aromas and flavors of red wine, try one of these: a) decant the bottle 30 to 60 minutes before serving. The interaction of the wine with oxygen speeds the evolution of the wine; b) don’t have an hour to wait? Pour a third of a glass of wine and vigorously swirl the glass in circular motions, allowing oxygen to interact with the wine; c) purchase a wine aerator and pour the wine through this amazingly efficient device. It is more effective than swirling and more time-saving than a decanter. I have tested an aerator several hundred (thousand) times and it has never failed to enhance the wine at hand.
- Sniffing the cork in a restaurant tells you something about the quality of the wine.
This centuries-old tradition is nothing more than an early-warning exercise. And it is a simple visual test, not a “smell” test. It tells you nothing about the essence of the wine in the bottle. If the cork is cracked or moldy or has tracks of wine along its sides, there may be a problem, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the wine is adulterated.
More relevant is to sniff the wine. Pour a bit into a glass, swirl it around and insert your nose into the glass. If the wine smells tainted (a wet newspaper odor), you have a bad bottle. Send it back.
- The word “Reserve” on a bottle label indicates a higher quality wine.
In the United States, it is predominantly a subjective term having no defined meaning. It may be a small batch of wine to which the winemaker has applied additional diligence in nurturing the progression of the wine.
It may be produced from grapes that have a unique characteristic, be it a particular vine clone or select plot of land. The derivation of the term harkens back to the early days of winemaking, for special wines not offered for commercial sale, which instead were reserved for the winemaker’s personal consumption and distribution. Today, it is mainly a marketing term here and in most winemaking regions across the globe.
However, in certain European countries – Italy, Spain and Portugal – it is a strictly regulated term used to distinguish wines that have spent a longer than average portion of their life being aged. Typically, if a wine has been aged in barrel (in some cases, in bottle) for two to five years, it may carry this prestigious designation.
Do you have questions that provide contradictory or confusing information online? Drop me an e-mail. I look forward to clarifying your consternation.
Nick Antonaccio is a 40-year Pleasantville resident. For over 20 years he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. He also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
