Legs!

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today I feel compelled to address the topic of the term legs used to describe the viscosity of a wine as though the presence of these legs is a positive attribute. I watch people swirl their wine and gaze with admiration as they watch the wine stream down the inside wall of the wineglass. They are thinking the more and thicker the stream is - the better the wine will be. Those streams of wine are referred to as the legs and I am sorry to burst your bubble but it is not an indication of quality. What is actually happening is the reaction of the alcohol and stuff in the wine with the surface tension of the glass. It is a complicated scientific explanation the even includes gravity – but alas nothing to do with quality. It is however a valid indication of the wine's body – you'ver heard thr term light medium full body. Well body is the thickness of the viscosity of the wine and by observing the legs you have an idea of how thick the wine is and hence what the body id likely to be. So in light of this information, my recommendation, is to stop hovering over the glass gazing at the legs, and just swirl to aerate, then smell, then taste; and judge the wine for yourself! Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.