ask a sommelier
I have a friend who swirls wine in its glass and tells me that it has“ legs.” Why is he swirling it and what does he mean by“ legs”?
— Mark Saunders
Dear Mark,
Putting aside the fact that swirling wine is customary( and fun!), the scientific premise behind this debonair flick of the wrist is that agitation introduces oxygen into a wine, thereby enticing some of the volatile elements( aromas) to come out and play. We say a wine is“ tight” when its tannins are high and its aromas are shut down. Swirling a wine in its glass( and by the same token, decanting a wine quickly) is a method we use to try and“ open up” the wine.
" Legs " are streams left behind on the glass that are created by alcohol evaporating when you swirl. It’ s sort of a misconception how much the“ legs” can tell you about the overall quality of the wine. Factoring in the cleanliness of the glass, the best you can hope for is to glean its alcohol content and perhaps a little about the winemaking if a lot of colour is left on the glass.
— Brooklyn Hurst
My partner, Faiz, and I are off to Napa and Sonoma and we want to tour some vineyards. I am sure a lot has changed since we lived there in the 1980s. Faiz does most of the wine shopping and he is very adventurous. I like full-bodied reds, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, although I surprise myself often when trying something different. Could you recommend vineyards that we should visit?
— Chef Louise Briskie-de Beer, Cafe Savour
Dear Louise,
Many Napa and Sonoma wineries are open to the public with elaborate tasting rooms and bookable tours; others require appointments. Are you interested in wine tourism or wines? For the former, Beringer ' s
19th-century German inspired mansion, Sterling’ s cable car and panoramic view of Napa Valley, and Inglenook / Rubicon Estate are Napa icons. In Sonoma, Benziger offers a terrific tour of their self-contained biodynamic vineyard and winery. If you are strictly wine focused, you’ ll find most Napa- Sonoma red wines are full-bodied, even some of the Pinot Noirs! Before your trip, contact wineries that produce wines that appeal to you to express your interest— this opens doors and may broaden the experience. Come into the store for a chat, and we ' ll happily make more tailored recommendations.
— Gary Hewitt
My friend serves wine in any glass he can find in the kitchen, saying that putting it in a proper wine glass makes no difference. Is he right? If not, what’ s the purpose of the classic wine glass design?
— Tim Hoover
Dear Tim,
Your friend is definitely not right! Wine glasses are designed to enhance wine. The size of the bowl( bottom portion of the glass) controls the amount of surface area that is exposed to the air. It will determine how much or little liquid can be swirled, which in turn affects how much of the wine is exposed to air. Exposing wine to oxygen allows its flavours and aromas to open up.
At the top of the glass, the thickness and shape of the rim will direct the wine to specific parts of the tongue, where we taste five different elements: sweetness, acidity, bitterness, saltiness, or savouriness. Finally, the diametre of the opening controls the bouquet( the aroma rising off the wine).
The stem of the wine glass has a very practical purpose: without it, you would be holding the wine glass by the bowl, which would serve to warm a chilled white, or even overheat a glass of red. All of these elements contribute to a better tasting experience.
Try this experiment with your friend: take a plastic cup, a water glass and a wine glass and pour the same wine into each. Get him to taste wine from each vessel. I bet you will never see him pour his Shiraz into a random glass again!
— Saralyn Mehta
If you have a question for our Sommeliers, visit us at www. banvilleandjones. com / cellar. aspx
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