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MYTH BUSTING Nothing compares to popping a cork and smelling that sweet aroma of a freshly opened bottle of wine. Once seen as a luxury afforded only to special occasions, wine is now enjoyed universally. Still, that hasn’t stopped wine myths from traveling down through the generations of passionate wine drinkers. We’ve heard all the myths — everything from how to drink your wine to storing your wine — but if there’s one thing we know, it’s you shouldn’t believe everything you hear. VINO EDITION
MYTH: RED WINE IS BEST WITH RED MEAT Although the red meat protein can soothe a savagely tannic red wine, there’s no rule against drinking white wine. Indeed, red wine has long been seen as the standard beverage for a steak dinner, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a complimentary white. In fact, the creaminess of chardonnay is refreshing with a juicy grilled sirloin. MYTH: SERVING WINE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE When wine rules were born, room temperature in European wine cellars meant 62-66 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, those room temperature falls in the low-to-mid- 70s range, and even higher in the south. Wine aroma and flavor change radically at different temperatures, and too much heat kills off a wine’s subtleties and exciting characteristics. To demonstrate, try chilling a bottle of red wine for several hours. Taste it right after opening, then again, every 10 minutes. As it warms up, different flavors will emerge. This test is also pretty remarkable with white wines, which are often served over chilled in restaurants. MYTH: ALL RED WINES CAN AGE It might be startling to know that 90-95% of all wines are meant to be consumed within the first two years after bottling. For the most part, the only age-worthy wines are cabernet sauvignon, syrah or Grenache-based wines, sturdy pinot noirs, some barrel-aged chardonnays, and dessert wines. Aging tames tannins and acidity and allows the natural fruit to come forward, which takes your taste buds on a wild ride. MYTH: RESERVE WINES ARE BETTER THAN REGULAR WINE In California, the word reserve gets thrown around a lot, but there’s no official definition. This loosely referenced term is often found on labels of bottles, affecting the price for no particular quality reason. Although some wineries use it legitimately for their better bottlings, you should still be wary of the term because there is no official regulation.
MYTH: SINGLE VINEYARD WINES ARE BETTER THAN OTHER WINES Single-vineyard wines (those that feature the vineyard’s name on the label) may be trendy, but they don’t guarantee quality. These wines express the character of an individual vineyard — good or bad. Blending wines made from the fruit of multiple vineyards can improve a wine by balancing out its flavors, acidity levels, and more.
MYTH: RINSING YOUR GLASS AT WINE TASTINGS IS A GOOD THING As a common practice and myth passed down through the
generations, there’s no need to rinse your glass. This exercise can have the opposite effect — watering down the flavor of the next wine. There is, however, one situation where you’d want to rinse: if you’re changing from red to white wine because the red will discolor and change the flavor profile of the delicate white.
MYTH: OPENING THE BOTTLE LETS THE WINE BREATHE
Oxygen exposure can help tannic reds mellow out, but only if you pour the wine into a glass or decanter. Simply pulling the cork isn’t going do the trick since the space between the bottleneck and the wine is too small to give the wine enough air contact. Fruity reds and most whites don’t usually need to breathe. Taylor Eason is a wine & food writer and educator, a certified specialist of wine with the Society Of Wine Educators, and a proud member of the Wine Century Club (over 180 varietals and counting).
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