04 Jun The 8 most common wine myths
Ever blamed wine for a hangover? Or put a spoon in your sparkling in to keep the bubbles in? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. But Meg and Mel are here to crack these myths in their podcast, here’s the top myths, busted!
Wine gives you worse hangovers
Nope – alcohol gives you hangovers! Alcohol converts to acetaldehyde which is toxic and leads to those gruelling after-effects. Here’s where people get confused – wine is more alcoholic than many types of alcohol (like beer!) so if you’re used to drinking something else, you might find yourself more intoxicated with, say, 3 glasses of wine compared to 3 beers – it all comes down to alcohol content so pay attention to standard drinks on labels, listen to your body, and drink water.
A spoon in sparkling wine keeps the bubbles in overnight
We’re all guilty of this one, and are sad to report that this is, in fact, absolutely untrue. You need to block air to keep bubbles and keep the bottle nice and cold. So, invest in a trusty bottle stopper, and put in the fridge. In the absence of the real thing, we suggest using foil to make a fake cork!
You can’t chill red wine
You can! And more than just Pinot Noir. Many light-bodied reds are great at 14-17 degrees (try putting them in the fridge for 20 mins). Many high-alcohol reds also benefit from some slight chilling to mask the alcohol. Have fun experimenting, you may just find you like it!
Organic doesn’t make you hungover
Ba-bow! We wish the answer was this easy – alas, no – just drink in moderation.
Great wines have great “legs”
Many people think the “legs” which linger on the side of the glass after a swirl indicate quality. In reality – this just comes from just sugar or alcohol, and can be present in wines of all quality!
Blended wine is inferior
Absolutely not! Some of the best wine in the world (like Bordeaux) are famously blends. We’re not sure how they got such a bad name, but a great blend is where you truly experience the brilliance of winemaking – for an Aussie style, why not try a GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro) or a CSM (Cabernet Shiraz, Merlot) – they’ll make it worth your while!
Red wine with meat, white wine with fish
These work… but they’re not the only things that do! Some chardonnays are amazing with red meat! Try going outside of your comfort zone and pairing flavours in meals instead of the protein. If this interests you – check out our Food and Wine pairing episode!
An expensive decanter will work best to decant wine
We’ve got a great answer for you here – total myth! Your $15 K-Mart number will do the exact same job!