Top Ten (10) Wine Myths

Wine connoisseurs frequently extol the virtues of the perfect wine glass or the secrets of a waft of the aroma from a recently uncorked bottle. Are these wine myths or does wine actually get worse after being uncorked for multiple days? Following we dispel ten commonly believed wine myths.

10) California's first winery was in Napa Valley.

FALSE: Established in 1857, Buena Vista winery in Sonoma County was the first winery in California.

9) The United States first winery was in California.

FALSE: This myth is also completely erroneous because the very first commercial winery was established in Missouri in 1823.

8) Mondavi was the first winery in Napa Valley.

FALSE:Mondavi was the first winery to open after the prohibition era, however Charles Krug Winery, founded in 1861 was the first winery to open in Napa Valley. Mondavi now owns Charles Krug.

7) Each wine type requires a different glass in order to maximize the aroma, taste and embodiment of the wine.

FALSE:Test after test reveals that a standard ISO wine glass is more beneficial and receptive to offering the full array of both red and white wines equal to or better than specialty glasses. The general rule is to ensure that your glass is taller than it is wide.

6) Wines that utilize the terms “Old Vine” and “Reserve” necessarily guarantee quality.

FALSE: There is no commonly accepted legal or agreed upon meaning for the specified terms "Old Vine" and "Reserve". Many wineries have different years they use when defining what an "old vine" as what as what a "reserve" wine consists of. Therefore, do not attribute much weight to wines that bear the monikers "old vine" and "reserve".

5) High Quality in wine can be indicated by wine “legs” or “tears”.

FALSE:Wine legs are found after the wine is swirled and consist of the viscous clear streams of fluid that come down the inside of the glass. Overall, it has been found that more pronounced legs result from a greater percentage of alcohol in the wine, however the quality of the wine has nothing to do with legs or tears.

4.) Dom Perignon invented Champagne.

FALSE:Dom Perignon invented the mushroom cork and enclosures that keep the bottles effervescent. Before Dom Perignon, people were having quite a difficult time keeping the cork in their bottles.

3) Smelling the cork can tell you something about a wine’s quality.

FALSE:This is a gross falsity as the aroma from the cork will tell you nothing about the quality of the wine. If the waiter hands you the cork at a restaurant only examine it for mold or to see if it is broken. You need to actually smell the wine, not the cork.

2) If you don't finish your wine within a day of opening it, it will start to go bad.

FALSE:One of the worst myths of them all, because a freshly opened bottle can easily last more than three days. Also, the wine typically gets better as time goes by. Studies show that wine drinkers prefer wine when it is 3 days old. Therefore, no need to rush to finish up your wine that night or even worse throw it away. Your wine will actually get better over a few days.

1) In order to improve the taste of the wine and soften the wine, it is necessary to uncork the bottle a few hours before drinking it.

FALSE:Due to the small surface are of the wine that comes into contact with the air, uncorking it does not do much. In order to truly let the wine breathe, it must be decanted.

• Login or register to post comments