Let yourself be poured pure wine: We present the greatest myths and fallacies that persist around the topic of wine.
Different types of wine *, different countries, different vintages: finding a really good wine is not so easy for laypeople.
Then there are also countless
rumors and errors
about the topic that can unsettle you.
Which wine myths do you know?
Perhaps the following list can help you avoid falling for certain myths and well-intentioned advice.
Wine Myth # 1: Every wine gets better with age
This does not apply to every wine.
Many of the wines produced today are meant to be drunk within 12 to 18 months.
There is even a real trend, especially with red wines,
to create
young, fresh wines
that taste better when drunk than when they are aged.
Of course there are still wines that can mature for years and decades and still taste, if not better.
But there is no general
“perfect” storage time
for wines.
Basically it can be said: the higher the tannin, sugar and acid content in wines, the longer they can be stored.
Storage for more than five years increases the risk of a vinegar note that makes the wine inedible.
Wine myth No. 2: Wine bottles with corks are higher quality than those with screw caps
One has the feeling that a wine that is closed with a cork is of higher quality and more noble.
But that's a rumor.
Nowadays, more and more wines are
sold
with
screw caps
.
Not only that the bottles are easier to open.
Screw caps also eliminate many of the problems that
corks
cause,
such as wine corking, oxidation, and wine leakage.
Also read:
Four tricks to open wine bottles without a corkscrew.
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Wine myth # 3: A good wine has to be expensive
Different wines taste better than others for everyone.
How much a wine costs can give an indication of the
quality of
the grapes and how expensive the production process was.
Yet many wine prices are driven by economic considerations: marketing, supply and demand.
But there is no guarantee that an expensive wine will taste better than a cheaper one.
A wine between ten and 15 euros can also taste great.
Wine myth # 4: The French invented champagne
It is debatable whether the
French
really
invented
the
champagne
, which is named after the Champagne region.
Allegedly, the monk Dom Perignon further developed the "Méthode champenoise" through various blends of base wines.
But the English scientist and doctor Christopher Merret is also under discussion of having invented champagne in the 17th century when he added sugar to a finished wine to cause a second fermentation.
Wine myth No. 5: red wine with red meat, white wine with fish and white meat
In general,
red wines
with a high
tannin content
(i.e. tannins) are a good companion to red meat such as beef, while the acidity in
white wines goes
well with chicken or fish.
But you don't have to stick to this orientation stubbornly.
A Pinot Noir can also go well with white meat.
Heavy wines go well with hearty dishes and dishes from Asian cuisine are particularly tasty with wines with a slight residual sweetness.
Also read:
Which wine goes well with which dish?
An overview.
Wine myth No. 6: Rosé is a mixture of red and white wine
It
is a common misconception
that
rosé is
a mixture.
Instead, the light, pink color of this wine is due to a special fermentation process in which the pulp of the grapes is fermented, but the skin is removed immediately.
Most of the
dyes
are in the peel, so the rose color remains rather pale.
Wine myth No. 7: Red wine should be drunk at room temperature
A persistent myth that still holds up today: white wine is drunk cold, red wine at room temperature.
However, one forgets that the rule dates back to when rooms were
heated
to around
16 to 18 degrees
.
Nowadays dining and living rooms are heated a lot warmer, to over 20 degrees.
Since the
ideal drinking temperature
for red wines is between 16 and 18 degrees according to the German Wine Institute, you can also cool red wine with a clear conscience, for example by placing it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
More:
Drinking red wine chilled?
Why that's not a crime at all.
Wine myth # 8: If a wine smells and tastes like a particular fruit, that fruit was also involved in its production
The labels on wine bottles can be a bit confusing: “strong, velvety strawberry aromas”, “intense aromas of dark berries”.
Have any flavorings been added?
No.
The fact is: Wine is made solely from
grapes
.
Other aromas and flavors that you may discover are the result of
aroma and taste molecules
that a grape has in common with a particular fruit.
For example, Cabernet grapes contain the same taste molecules as black currants.
(mad) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Read more:
Five mistakes when drinking wine that almost everyone makes - tips for more enjoyment.
The great wine ABC for beginners
The great wine ABC for beginners
List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / Andreas Arnold / dpa
