Tired of wine myths confusing you? Let’s bust 7 common beliefs on expensive bottles, legs, and aging. Transform your wine knowledge today!

Wine myths, misconceptions people pass as facts even when they are not, are common. You probably heard some of them, and maybe even believed at some point. Today I want to right that wrong by talking about some of my favorites.

Ready to bust some myths? Let’s go!

Wine Myths About Quality

There’s quality, and then there’s perception of quality, created by lore or marketing. The real McCoy we get when we taste the wine; the rest is bogus (or another word that starts with a “b” and has an “s” there somewhere).

Wine Myth No. 1: Expensive Wine is Better

I mean, this one is obvious, right? I’m an advocate for your everyday wines, and Chile champions that bang for your buck style of winemaking. Fact is, you can find both great and poor value at all price points. You can find excellent wines at the US$ 10 mark from many New World producers[i]. But don’t sleep on some Old World lesser-known wine regions, like Portugal or Greece[ii]. Even well-known regions in France and Italy offer inexpensive high-quality wines if you know what to look for!

On the other hand, some expensive wines don’t meet expectations. To be fair, though, maybe our expectation are higher with a pricey Bordeaux than with an entry-level[iii] one. You will likely enjoy more the latter. Sure, partially because you perceive it to be a better value, but it might actually be a better wine (even if only for you) than its more expensive counterpart.

Wine Myth No. 2: Wine Legs in the Glass Indicate Quality

Give your wine a swirl inside the glass and you’ll see how it sticks to its walls, dripping down slowly, forming legs. According to this Myth, the thicker these legs are—a.k.a. the slower they flow down—the higher the quality of the wine.

Wait. Slow down. What even are wine legs?

Great question, imaginary reader! Let’s go back to swirling the wine. A thin layer of it forms on the sides of the glass. Now, remember, wine is mostly water and alcohol, and the latter evaporates faster than the former. As alcohol disappears, the thin layer becomes mostly water. This causes a change in the surface tension of the two liquids. Naturally, the liquid wants to move from a lower surface tension (more alcohol) to a higher surface tension (up the glass, where alcohol has already evaporated), but because of gravity, it instead drips down[iv].

We can clear the air on this wine myth by saying that thicker legs in you wine mean that it has more alcohol. They have nothing to do with quality.

Wine Myth No. 3: Screw Caps Are a Sign of Lower Quality Wine

I see where this one comes from. There’s an expectation when we uncork a premium wine. And I already said the magic word. We, indeed, take the cork out. We expect natural cork. If, in a Restaurant, we order one of their premium reds from Burgundy, Piedmont, or Maipo Alto, we’d be disappointed if the server unscrews the top of the bottle, right?

However, the closure that the winery choses to use has nothing to do with the quality of the wine. Natural cork is the more expensive alternative, especially if workers punch them out manually, so it makes sense they use it for their best wines. Thing is, they don’t have to. They do it because of tradition, and because we’d probably freak out if they didn’t.

Oh, and a related bonus myth, alternative bottle stoppers are not worst for aging wine. Researchers have found ways to control oxygen flow in the lining touching the top of the screw cap, which makes them more accurate than corks.

Wine Myth No. 4: (Red) Wines Get Better with Age

I guess the bonus wine myth here is that only red wine can age. Some whites also have great aging potential, like Chardonnay, Riesling, and Semillon[v]. But when people talk about wine getting better with age, they generally mean reds, don’t they? So, don’t think only reds, even if those are the ones people more commonly age.

But. Just how common are aged wines? Remember, only a small portion of wines are age worthy. Estimates vary, but I would be safe to say that less than 10% of all wines improve with age, and I think it wouldn’t be unreasonable to lower that number to below 5%. So, next time you pick a bottle of Merlot, think twice before holding it for long-term storage.

Furthermore, wine you know is age worthy also has a deadline. It will slowly improve until it reaches its peak and swiftly decline from then on. Wait too long and you might uncork vinegar. Aging potential depends on acidity, tannins, sugar content, and alcohol by volume. So, production and the quality of the grape itself. In other words, for these wines, vintage matters.

Misconceptions About Serving Wine

Well, now you know that quality has nothing to do with age, bottle closure, legs, or price. But what about when we’ve already opened the bottle? I’ve got you. Let’s bust three more wine myths!

Wine Myth No. 5: Serve Red Wine with Beef, and White Wine with Fish

I know you’ve heard this one before. You might’ve even read my article about food pairing. There I already dispel this myth, but let’s briefly get into it here.

The main takeaway is that wine should be paired with mood, not food (even if food is part of the mood). Sure, your meal might improve with the right wine, but don’t let that stop you from uncorking the bottle y’all want to taste just because “it doesn’t go with the food”.

With that out of the way, there are some red wines light enough to pair well with fatty fishes and seafood. Think Pinot Noir, Garnacha, or Gamay. Contrastingly, some fuller bodied whites can stand tall when paired with meats. Oaked Chardonnay is the obvious choice, but don’t sleep on Chenin Blanc and some Rieslings.

You should keep an open mind and do be afraid to experiment. Also, honestly, forget the rules. Drink what you like and eat what you like. The moment trumps the pairing.

Wine Myth No. 6: You Should Only Decant Red (Or Old!) Wines

Again, I’ve written a whole article on when, how, and why to decant wines. But for this wine myth Imma give you the executive summary.

You want to decant wines to aerate them and/or to remove sediments. Some young wines benefit when you introduce oxygen to them (by pouring it from the bottle to a different vessel) it opens. Your wine’s tannins soften, and hidden aromatics come to the surface. Better for younger, bolder wines.

As wine ages, sediment forms and precipitates. You want to decant it slowly to get as much of the wine as possible, whilst keeping the sediment in the bottle. You have to be careful not to disturb the wine too much. Age makes it delicate, and excessive aeration can be detrimental.

So, you can decant both old and young wines. Did you notice at no point did I mention the color of the wine? You absolutely can decant your whites to aerate them, and to remove lees and tartrate crystals[vi], which will form with time.

Wine Myth No. 7: Serve Red Wines at Room Temperature

Listen, what temperature even is that? Is it summer in Arizona or winter in Ohio? Also, are we talking air-conditioned temperature or whatever it would be without climatization?

See, Europeans stored their wine in the cellars of their châteaux[vii], which also had general ambient temperatures that we wouldn’t consider comfortable today. A couple hundred years ago, “room temperature” was from 15°C to maybe 20°C during summer months (58°F to 68°F). Much cooler than how we like to keep our homes today, around 23°C (74°C).

Truth is, red wine should be served a few degrees below what our homes’ actual temperatures are. And it depends on the wines themselves. Lighter reds should be served cooler than those with heavier bodies.

Serving Temperatures for Red Wines[viii]

• Lighter reds like Pinot Noir or Cinsault should be served between 13°C to 16°C (55°F to 60°F).
• Medium-bodied reds like Carménère or your Chianti Classico are best between 16°C to 18°C (60°F to 65°F).
• Full-body reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah should be served in the range of 17°C to 20°C (63°F to 68°F).

The Last Drop

There’s a lot of passed-down knowledge about wine, so it’s important to discern truth from lore. A lot of myths were accurate at some point, but they no longer apply. Yes, screw caps were not as good as natural cork, but with technological advances in the industry, they’re better now. And yes, chambers were colder a few centuries ago, so it made sense to serve wine at room temperature, but today we generally keep our homes warmer, so we should chill our wines a little bit before we uncork them.

Other wine myths are plain wrong, misconceptions passed down without verification. Price doesn’t determine quality. Nor do wine legs. You can’t age all wine, and even the ones you can will eventually decline. It’s always best to do some reading (hint-hint) and question “common knowledge”. Do you have any favorite wine myths? Something I haven’t covered here? I still have a few I might cover in the future if you’re interested. Some of them might be controversial!

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Footnotes

[i] Chile is a great example. You can find excellent Sauvignon Blancs from Casablanca, Carménères from Colchagua, and Cabernet Sauvignons from Maipo at all price points.

[ii] Of course, the cat’s already out of the bag with Portugal, and I feel prices from some of the country’s wine regions (maybe Dão?) will soon go up. Greece will likely follow as it’s a favorite spot for tourists. Maybe I should’ve said Georgia instead?

[iii] Though I admit that “entry level” is a term we should associate more with New World wines and big producers than with Bordeaux. Still, I think you get the idea.

[iv] Yeah, it’s a bit technical. A bit complicated. Sorry about that. If you want to go into more detail, I found this article by Mike Pomraz in Food & Wine. It goes into more detail, and does a good job explaining the effect.

[v] Wine aging not only depends on the grape. How winemakers produce it is also important. Not all Chards are created equal. Some, only some, can age. Most can’t. Same with all wines, regardless of color.

[vi] Potassium bitartrate crystals come out of solution as the wine ages. We call them tartrate crystals or wine diamonds.

[vii] Most wine belonged to producers, which were also nobility at the time (they had the land and resources). Wine was kept in their castles and manors.

[viii] I’m generalizing, of course, but this one is a good rule of thumb.

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Cover Image: Getting ready to bust some wine myths by drinking them! Photo by Israel Hergón