Wine is the media’s unexpected wonder drink and many are running to it for various health benefits. Many news outlets are publishing articles daily about wine being a super-food with all the stay-fit qualities like making you wiser, slimmer, and everything else you wouldn’t expect from alcohol! It’s like they are encouraging you to consume it. Yes, have wine, wine, wine, and more wine… Lol! It’s getting crazy out here!
This post is not left out and will encourage you without fear or intimidation but with moderation! I will educate you about this divine beverage and later give you time to decide whether you are in or out. My premonition is definitely in, just wait. In fact, you’ll order a bottle of Cardinale or Sangria, once you are through. I will demystify some of the wine famous myths you’ve heard from people. Read through to be enlightened.
Myth #1: Sweet wines have lots of sugar
This is total hogwash! Sweet wine is not necessarily sugary. The sweetness in sweet wine results from residual sugar from naturally-occurring sugar in wine grapes. What determines the sweetness level in wine is whether or not yeast used in fermentation, has converted all residual sugar into alcohol. If not all residual sugar was converted into alcohol, the wine will taste sweet. Sometimes fermentation is interrupted to retain residual sugar to make the wine sweet. Since residual sugar is eaten up and turned into alcohol, adding natural sugar in wine won’t make it sweet (the sugar will turn into alcohol). Technically, a ton of sugar in wine will only raise the alcohol content, not sweetness.
Myth #2: Oldest Wine is always better
This is another of the many wine myths that don’t hold any truth. Wine vintage, on many occasions, is found in the front label of wine. It refers to the year the grapes were picked to make that wine. The details can also appear on the cork or the neck of the bottle explaining how grapes were harvested. Sometimes younger vintage has a higher rating than its old counterpart. What determines the quality of the wine is not its age but the climatic conditions the grapes were cultivated in. Today, wine is made ready to drink and aging won’t make it better. So, what are you waiting for? Pop that bottle you have stored, while you are still young!
Myth #3: Pay More to Drink Good Wine
Winemaking is like any other business, its retail price depends mostly on the network of distribution channels. Brands are made by marketing and publicity stunts they can afford. So, saying that expensive wine is just a gimmick to boost sales. You can enjoy the best wines with the little money you have. Good wine depends on the taste, so find out what works for you by selecting wines from a liquor store or bar that offers a multinational range with a different denomination of origin. Your taste buds won’t lie, so trust them and you wouldn’t be lured to spending a fortune on a bottle.
Myth #4: Better Legs Indicates Better Quality of Wine
The slow dribble of wine that oozes down the side of the glass is called legs. It is believed that quality wine has bigger legs but in reality, it’s the high concentration of alcohol that results in sliding down of wine leftovers. There is nothing more to it. Unless quality means high alcohol content in wine, the legs don’t determine the quality of wine.
Myth #5: Varietal wines are better than Blended Ones
This myth is based on somebody’s opinion and is not a fact. This shouldn’t deter you from enjoying awesomely blended wines. Additionally, a wine bottle claiming to be a varietal doesn’t necessarily make it so. Winemakers in the U.S are allowed to label their wines as a varietal with only 75% of it being grapes. This means that 25% of the wine will not be the perceived varietal. So don’t enslave your mind with this notion and just enjoy good wine – varietal or blended. Moreover, blends may even taste better than varietals. The aim of the winemaker when blending grapes is to take the best elements of each grape to enhance the taste. So it doesn’t make sense saying blended wine comes second to varietal wine.
Myth #6: Red wine pairs best with cheese
If you make a close observation, proteins in milk products can’t compete with tannins found in full-bodied red wine. Hence, the two are incompatible. Cheese is best suited for dry white wine and also sweet wines pairs well with blue cheese.
Myth #7: Sulphites in Wine are a reason for hangovers
If you’ve ever suffered from a wine hangover, then you know just how severe its headache is. It is not brought by sulfites in wine, but by alcohol. Wines with low sulfites don’t cause hangovers. They are meant to sustain and stabilize the wine.
Myth #8: Wines with Screw Caps are designed to drink fresh
The striking “Pop” sound brought forth by opening a bottle of wine is fulfilling and I can understand the person who came up with this myth. This doesn’t make screwcap wine bottles lesser than corked tops. It is also not true that cork top wine bottles are better meant for wine aging. But there may be a chance that your perfectly aged wine is prone to oxidation. Screwcap tops hardly allow any oxygen to enter making them perfect for aging. Oxygen is wines worst enemy and you should try as much as possible not to allow in oxygen.
Myth #9: Drink Red Wine at Room Temperature
Do you put red wine in the fridge? Yes, there are ideal serving temperatures for different wines. As much as refrigeration preserves all kinds of wine, red wine also needs refrigeration since exposing it to sunlight or temperatures above 70° F may damage its flavor. However, you shouldn’t drink red wine straight from the fridge. Give it time to level up with the room temperature. Chilled red wine will have its flavor distorted with a far more tannic and bitter taste. But this doesn’t apply to all red wines. Some red wines like the Frappato and some Pinot Noirs are best served slightly chilled.
Myth #10: Sweet Wines are considered to be Cheap Wines
Most wine enthusiasts consider sweet wines to be disgraceful or unsuitable. This has made an entire generation of wine drinkers in America to believe that sweet wine is not worth it. In a real sense, some of the best wines are produced with intentions of making them sweet. These include Sherry and Port. Although they are meant for dessert we shouldn’t discredit them as cheap and unworthy just because they are sweet.
Final remarks
If these myths were filling your head and denying you the pleasure of drinking wine, it’s time you put them behind and start enjoying good wine. All you need to know about wine is that it’s a super beverage with great diversities to quench anyone’s thirst. So, go ahead and pop any wine bottle to enjoy with friends and family.