#Wine 101: Grumpy answers all your burning wine questions
Okay, who is Grumpy though?
Well, that’s me. Born Italian, now located in New Zealand. Founder of the Grumpy Cantina Wine Club, Wine Professional WSET level 3 certified and 15+ years of experience in both Italy and New Zealand. Mom of a beautiful 1 year old and a tuxedo cat (who is the real boss of GCWC and our Glorious Queen).
One of the things I like the most is pizza, but also talk about wine to newcomers and aficionados alike — and so, today I will dive into some commonly asked questions and give you my grumpy answers.
I truly hope this will help you learn something new, and go past the stuffy and daunting air surrounding the world of wine. And if I do my job right here, y’all want to jump on Twitter and ask me even more questions!
Cin cin 🥂
- Is drinking wine good for you?
- How long can I keep a bottle of wine before it goes bad?
- What are legs?
- What are tannins?
- Does the shape or size of a wine glass really make a difference?
- Are wines vegan?
- What are some basics when pairing wine with food?
- What are sulfites?
- Why do some wines give me a headache?
- Does it matter if a bottle has a cork or a screwcap?
- At a restaurant, how do I taste the wine for the table?
- Does a higher price mean better wine quality?
1. Is drinking wine good for you?
This is a complex subject with many layers. I’m not a medical professional, so I can only share my partial knowledge and personal opinion. For professional advice, see your physician.
Being Italian, we have doctors prescribing half a glass of wine with our meals to “make good blood”.
vino buono fa buon sangue — a modern version in Italian of the much older latin vinum bonum laetificat cor hominis
There are several peer-reviewed medical research papers that seem to confirm what the Latin suspected: moderate wine consumption (especially red) might help with several conditions.
Resveratrol and polyphenols (powerful antioxidants present in the grapes’ skin) have proven positive effects on coronary ischemic disease and type 2 diabetes, and enhance the production of “good” cholesterol (HDL).
Other studies identified procyanidolic, and ethanol itself, as powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that might strengthen the blood vessel walls elasticity.
Where is the catch?
Like almost all things that “interferes” with our extremely complex biology, there is a downside, and a big one at that.
According to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian National Institute of Health), 10 grams of pure alcohol consumed daily have positive effects but it’s also a level that increases the risk of contracting other pathologies, including several types of cancer. And, of course, any consumption that is greater than the recommended dose has disastrous effects on almost every organ in our body and on our mental health.
So from a purely medical standpoint, health professionals must assume that any alcohol consumption — moderate or not — is risky.
As a wine professional I take my alcohol intake very seriously and, despite the size of my wine cellar and spirits cabinet, I am an occasional drinker. I take the informed decision of drinking for the experience and for the pleasure, knowing the potential health benefits and the definite health risks.
2. How long can I keep a bottle of wine before it goes bad?
There are rough guidelines that can help you with ageing potential (easy Google search), but at the end of the day it depends on each wine.
There are criteria that can help you:
- alcohol level — the higher it is, the longer the wine can be kept
- sugar — the sweeter it is, the longer the wine can be kept
- acidity (a great sweetness balancer) — the more acidic it is, the longer the wine can be kept
- tannins (especially for reds) — the highest amount of tannins, the longer the wine can be kept
Now, the bad news is that all of those criteria can vary depending on what kind of year the winemaker’s had. Weather conditions and yielding greatly affect the levels of all the above in the final product.
The same Pinot Noir from 2017 might have an ageing potential of, say 4 years, while in 2019 thanks to an outstanding vintage it can age for 8–10 years.
The good news is, there are lots of wine professionals writing about this kind of thing so the answer is always a quick web search away!
Fun (?) fact
Red wine discolors over time, while white does the opposite!
3. What are legs?
Wine legs are the streaks or droplets of liquid that form on the sides of the wine glass if you swirl it around.
They don’t matter, for anything. Not for quality, not for sweetness, not for viscosity. In fact, wine legs are just a representation of how much alcohol is in a wine, but let me tell you: I have worked with the highest Sommelier levels, Masters of Wine, acclaimed wine critics and none of them know how to correctly “read” those legs to find out the alcohol content of a wine. That’s just stupid.
If someone ever tries to shame you into ignorance by pretentiously commenting on the legs of the wine they’re drinking, you have my permission to make fun of them. I’m serious. Prompt them by asking how much sugar content they reckon the wine has or if that kind of viscosity helps with the ageing potential (answers: impossible to know and none whatsoever!). Or, you know, just point and call them wanker.
4. What are tannins?
Tannins are a group of bitter and astringent compounds that can be found abundantly in nature. They’re present in the wood, bark, leaves and fruit of plants as various as oak, rhubarb, tea, walnut, cranberry, cacao, and grapes.
Most importantly, they’re found in wine.
What do tannins do?
They provide texture and mouthfeel to wine as well as a sense of weight and structure.
Where do tannins in wine come from?
Tannins can stem from four primary sources: the grape skins, pips (seeds) and stems, and the wood barrels used during aging.
How do you describe tannins?
Tannins are responsible for that astringent, mouth-coating feeling you get from biting into an unripe pear or plum. Or, as I always like to describe, it’s like the sensation you would get if you bit down on a towel.
Texture is useful to describe the quality of tannins, i.e. silky, plush or velvety. When a wine has a pleasant amount of tannins, noticeable but unobtrusive, it’s often described as “grippy.” When tannins are described as “green,” they’re slightly bitter and have unpleasant astringency. “Polished” or “elegant” tannins will be very fine-grained in texture, noticeable but pleasant.
5. Does the shape or size of a wine glass really make a difference?
Yes — really. I was skeptical myself, but after attending several Riedel Sensory Masterclasses (look them up and if there’s one coming up in your area I highly recommend them) I had to come to terms with this truth.
Yeah, this answer is short, you’re welcome.
6. Are wines vegan?
Wine is made from grapes, but that doesn’t necessarily make it vegan.
It’s all got to do with the vinification process. Back in the days winemaking was an exceptionally slow process, where the fermented juice would “rest” over the post-harvest winter to naturally let all the sediment to clarify the wine.
Modern winemaking doesn’t have this luxury, which is where the animal products can come in — egg white is a famous fining agent used to clarify red wines: they remove tannin particles (especially the nasty ones).
Fun (?) fact
You often find that eggy desserts or cakes are traditional or customary in regions noted for red wine production. For example let’s take Bordeaux, where you can find ‘canelés’ everywhere. These are small cylindrical custard type cakes with a dark caramelized crust — delicious with morning coffee.
7. What are some basics when pairing wine with food?
This ain’t a quick answer so the best I can do to keep it short and sweet is sharing an image I myself used for quite some time, made by the good and knowledgeable people at Wine Folly:
What I can do is to make myself available to answer any specific questions you have. Just tag me on the GCWC Twitter and ask anything about pairings!
8. What are sulfites?
Sulfite is another word for sulfur dioxide, a powerful antioxidant and antibacterial that helps keep wine fresh. They kill bacteria that taints the wine. Some winemakers also use higher-dose added sulfites to kill yeasts, stopping fermentation early.
Every. Single. Wine. In the world contains sulfites. Sulfur dioxide is a natural byproduct of fermentation, so even wines with no added sulfites (organic and biodynamic) still contain sulfites.
Generally, whites contain more sulfites than reds. Red wines get their color from skin contact during fermentation. Grape skins contain tannins, polyphenols, and a variety of other antioxidants that keep wine from spoiling — so typically don’t need as many added sulfites to stay fresh.
The myth of sulfites causing an allergic reaction
While this may be true for the 1% of the population who has a sulfite allergy, particularly asthmatics, it could also be caused by foods consumed during or prior to wine consumption. It has been said that more sulfites are found in a salad bar than in a bottle of wine.
Fun (?) fact
Back in Roman times, winemakers burned candles made of sulfur in empty wine containers (called Amphorae) to keep the wines from turning to vinegar.
Sulfur started to be used in winemaking (instead of cleaning wine barrels) in the early 1900s to stop bacteria and other yeasts from growing.
9. Why do some wines give me a headache?
Headaches from wine usually come from overindulgence, accelerated dehydration, or a reaction to tannins in the wine.
A solution to prevent a headache may be to consider a white wine. If you are a red wine drinker, my personal trick is to have two glasses of water for every glass of wine.
10. Does it matter if a bottle has a cork or a screwcap?
Yes it does — but probably not the way you think.
There are still tenacious pockets of resistance scattered around the globe who swear that cork is superior to screwcap on all fronts. The sad reality (for them) is that not only screwcap has been found to not have negative effects on wines with great ageing potential, but it takes off the table some extremely annoying and costly wine faults that can occur with cork.
Cork wine faults might have to do with its quality, but don’t forget that cork is a naturally porous plant tissue, therefore suffers from things like abrupt temperature changes or brusque humidity drops. If the wine was transported with an embarrassingly poor temperature control, or stored in a too humid / too dry environment, or anything less than stable really, then even the best cork will give up and stop protecting the wine.
11. At a restaurant, how do I taste the wine for the table?
If I was a level 3 Sommelier I might have some etiquette related advice to give you. Alas, I’m just a coarse wine encyclopedia with no manners so the most important thing I want to say to you is: you will not embarrass yourself. I promise.
Take your time to order the wine you really want (if it’s someone else’s recommendation at the table, maybe have them try it out with you!) and, once you made your decision, all you need to do is take your time to slowly sip and (if you think you need it, you might not) give it a good smell. If it’s not to your liking, just say something like “sorry it’s more acidic / fruity / powerful / thin than I expected, could I choose something else?”.
If the server’s response makes you uncomfortable in any way, remember it’s on them and not you. They are the ones paid to make sure your dining experience is a positive one.
Obviously, you know, don’t be an ass just for the sake of it — I’m sure you won’t be.
Again, if there are any specific aspects that put you off tasting the wine for the table at the restaurant, I am here to help. Tag me on the GCWC Twitter and ask away!
12. Does a higher price mean better wine quality?
Theoretically speaking, yes.
The super short version I usually give as an answer is: wine is made of grape, labor, wood, and time. The more care goes into each of these aspects, the higher the price will be.
Grape and Labor
Hand-picked grapes have inherently better quality control over machine harvested, but it’s a lot more expensive.
A team of people carefully sorting the bunches before the vinification process vs a machine that shakes and rattles the bunches to get rid of the worst of the leaves and stems equals to superior quality juice, but it’s a lot more expensive.
Gently pressed whole bunches that just extract the best part of the juice vs machine squeezed bunches where every single drop is extract ensures, again, much higher quality, but extracts a much lower amount of liquid. Again, more expensive.
Wood and Time
Some wines need ageing, and wood barrels cost a lot of money. Unless you try what some Australian winemakers tried: they came up with tea-bag looking bags of wood chips that they dipped in their wines while the wines were stored in much more inexpensive vats (spoiler alert: it didn’t turn out to be a great idea. Kudos for creativity though).
Lots of old world (Europe mainly, but not only!) wineries also like to age the bottled wine in their temperature controlled cellars/caves/warehouses so they can release it to the market when they deem the wines are ready to drink. I personally find this amazing, very thoughtful, and respectful of all the work that went into creating the final bottled wine product. But you’re sitting on capital, which is a very expensive endeavor!
Wait, does that mean that cheap wine is nasty?
Absolutely not! There are plenty of cheap and cheerful wines that are inexpensive for a number of different reasons, but delicious.
For example, in some European countries agriculture is subsidized by the central government and — you guessed it — that includes viticulture too. So between the public funds and maybe the style of the wine (doesn’t need lots of the above components), the end product is cheap but delicious!
Alright that was a lot! I hope you found my answers useful, educational (haha, wanker Grumpy!), and easy to read.
If I do my part right, I will infect you with my passion and enthusiasm and not bore you to death. On the flipside, you can pop a bottle of champagne open if I bored you. So yeah, either way you are welcome.
I regularly drop wine nuggets in the GCWC Discord and GCWC Twitter, and sassy wine remarks on my personal Twitter account.
Please send your questions to me, tag me when when you are taking a picture of the wine you are enjoying, that’s what I am here for!
