Wine Legs

'Wine Legs' sounds a bit like it could be a winemaker's condition brought on by too much grape stomping. Or perhaps, like 'Sea Legs,' it's a badge worn by those who over time have a certain control and understanding of their wine drinking..."Yep, he's got his 'Wine Legs' now!" There are a lot of funny things the term 'Wine Legs' could mean, but in reality, wine legs refers to the streaks of wine that form on the side of your wine glass after swirling it about.

At one time, there was a certain value placed on these legs (referred to as tears by the French)...and a feeling that the more legs a wine had, the better quality the wine. But in reality, wine legs are not representative of a wine's quality, rather they are representative of a wines alcohol content. The higher the alcohol, the more legs. Now because a wine’s 'body' IS affected by the alcohol content, there is some relationship between legs and body. But as with any body, legs alone are a poor indicator of overall quality.

Knowing that legs are not a quality indicator, you might wonder why connoisseurs still swirl their wine? They swirl because it releases aroma molecules which help you to taste and smell the wine. They swirl because it increases the surface area, which increases oxygenation of the wine, which affects the flavor. And then, there are some swirlers who just like looking at legs! So swirl, smell, taste, and have fun checking out the legs on your next glass of wine!