What Do You Know About Wine Legs?

Even if you’re an amateur, learning about wine can be so much fun.

If you’re a wine aficionado, you probably know all about wine legs, but if you’re a newbie wine learner, read on. There’s plenty to know before you graduate to a pro.

Wine legs is actually a scientific phenomenon that can tell you key information about the alcohol level in wine. You’ll notice that when pouring a glass of wine, a wine pro will swirl the wine around the glass to watch it run down the sides. What that tells is:

When you see a higher density of droplets on the sides of the glass, that indicates a high alcohol content.

Sweeter wines are thicker so the wine legs flow slower down the sides of a glass.

Other names for Wine Legs are

•       Tears of Wine
•       Church Windows
•       Gibbs-Marangoni Effect 

The Gibbs-Marangoni Effect, is a scientific phenomenon that is the result of fluid surface tension caused by the evaporation of alcohol. There’s an informative article that NASA published on the Gibbs-Marangoni Effect in space.

It’s important to know that temperature and humidity of a room greatly affect the rate at which wine legs form. When assessing wine legs and before swirling your glass -- hold the wine at an angle to let it flow up one side of the glass. Next, level the glass and see how the wine flows. That tells you the viscosity. Then observe the density of the legs that form. If you see a lot of legs, you can guess that the wine is higher alcohol, which you can taste as a warming or burning sensation in the back of your throat.

Although some say wine legs are an indication of the quality of the wine, there’s little evidence to support the theory. Taste is in a category all its own when it comes to wine. We will explore that more in later posts.

The world of wine is vast and the history of wine is even grander and while much has changed over the centuries, much still remains the same. Be patient with yourself as you learn about wine and become familiar with names, varietals, and misunderstood terminology. While learning about wine might be a bit intimidating at first, it’s really not scary and in fact, it can be quite fun.

As you’re learning, pay a visit to Whiskey and Wine Barrel Furniture and Home Décor . Wine connoisseurs will love the unique designs that our master craftsman creates. There are wonderful gift ideas, too, for that special someone who’s difficult to buy for because they have everything! Come shop with us!