Wine Myths

There are a few things you hear or read about wine that just aren't true. Let's hit on a few.

image from www.cellarit.com.au

A Bottle With a Cork is Better Than One With a Screw Cap
   This is mostly a North American perception as screw caps were at one time associated with $3 poor quality fortified wines. Screw caps are different, but are not inferior.  If you care about aging wines there have been tests showing wines under screw caps actually age slower than wines with corks. Then there's that scourge of the wine industry, corked wines.
   There is no reason any wine won't be just as good under a screw cap. Sparkling wines, however, are under pressure in the bottle so screw caps won't work.

The Best Wines Age the Longest
   In the old days of winemaking there were these tight, tannic wines from France along with Italy and Spain that just weren't drinkable when they were young. However, if you purchased the right ones, stored them correctly, and opened them at the right time you got this marvelous wine that gave you bragging rights along the lines of, "I had this incredible '66 Margaux last night."
   Well, that was then because nowadays most wines, even Cabernet Sauvignon, are made to drink young. Why? Because that's when the vast majority are consumed. So there's been this big argument with some wine geeks saying, "If this Napa Cab can't age at least 30 years it's not up to the quality of the stuff from Bordeaux." People have figured out that this is not necessarily true. Say you have one Cab that's fantastic at only five years of age, but another won't be great for two decades. Why is the one that takes 20 years better? Of course, the 20 year one might be a better wine once it gets there -- or it might not. So the wine "truth" about longer aging equals better wine is slowly going away.
  You want a wine to be at its best when you plan on drinking it.

If the Label Says RESERVE It's a Better Wine
   In the U.S. there is no law covering the word "reserve" on a wine label ("old vine" is another). The idea of a reserve wine is the winemaker considers one version of a wine to be better then another. You may like the reserve wine better or you may not. For example, a winery might have 10,000 cases of a Cabernet selling for $40 then another 1,000 selling for $60 and marked reserve. They consider the reserve wine their best.
   That's the theory, but with no rules you could make a million cases of a $5 wine and label them all reserve. Most owners and winemakers are honest, but there's no guarantee. Why would anyone do this with their $5 bulk wine? If you see two five buck wines next to each other on the shelf and one says reserve which are you likely to buy? Yeah, it can be kind of a marketing scam. Anybody here old enough to remember Glen Ellen Proprietor's Reserve at five bucks a bottle with millions made?

If the Alcohol Level on the Label Says 14.5% That's What It Is
   Many check the alcohol percentage on the label to give them an idea of what they're getting. Why? Because a wine that's 13% alcohol will be quite different from one that is 15%.
   In the U.S. the feds make sure all alcohol labeling is truthful. If you say a wine is from the 2015 vintage then at least 95% has to be from that year. If you say it's Chardonnay then at least 75% has to be Chard, etc.
   There is quite a range allowed in the alcohol level on the label vs. reality. It's plus or minus 1.5% for wines below 14% and 1% for wines above. I get a bit leery when I see something labeled 14.9%, for instance, as it sounds like the winemaker didn't want to say 15.x% as that might sound worse to some people (like me). Note that if a wine is labeled 13.9% it can't actually be more than 14% because of tax laws.
   The tax laws for above or below 14% are outdated and the tolerances should be tightened up.

You Should Decant Your Old Wines
   Decanting adds oxygen and is essentially aging the wine quicker. You don't always want to age a wine you're opening. I damn sure don't want to do this with a 20 year old Cab because you might just have lessened your enjoyment of this wine you've cellared for many years. I would definitely try the wine first before deciding to decant.
   Decanting is also used to get rid of sediment usually found in older wines. So if you are worried about sediment you might just run the last glass (where most of the sediment should be) through cheesecloth and don't pour the very bottom of the bottle.
   Yes, you can decant young reds and even white wines to open them up. The extra oxygen will release aromas. Again, don't do this until you've tried the wine without decanting.
   Do you need a fancy $50 glass wine decanter? Nope. Use the cheesecloth method for old wines. For young wines that you want to open up the poor man's method is to pour one glass from the bottle and let it set for awhile. Put the cork back in the bottle and hold it in place while turning the bottle upside-down a couple times to slosh it around and get air to the wine then let it set for awhile.

Red Wines Shouldn't Go in the Fridge
   Before drinking it's okay to put a slight chill to the wine as room temp is usually too warm to serve a wine. This is especially true in warm weather. A red served too warm can be astringent. Usually 15-20 minutes in the fridge is plenty. Many Chardonnays and a few other whites are more flavorful with this quick chill rather than being at refrigerator temp.
   Put leftover whites and reds in fridge at the end of the evening to help preserve what's left.

Decanting