Wine legs are often commented on at the moment of tasting a wine. Indeed, when observing the wine in the glass, certain drops stay on the surface of the glass. You’ve surely already noticed these drops of wine that linger on the surface of the glass and slowly run down inside it. But what do wine legs mean? What causes them? We answer all these questions in this article.
What are wine legs?
Wine legs are the drops of wine that run down your glass after you’ve tilted it. They are an excellent indication of the wine you’re about to taste. In that sense, observing the legs of the wine is particularly useful in the first stage of wine tasting. To bring them out, you can swirl the wine in your glass and then let it settle. Then, by tilting your glass slightly, you’ll see these little drops running down the length of your glass.
Interpreting wine legs
Interpreting what wine legs mean is an essential part of tasting a wine. Whether it’s the legs of a red wine or the legs of a white wine, observing them is always useful. Indeed, dense legs are often the sign of a wine with a fairly high alcohol or sugar content. In absolute terms, this information won’t be very useful to you. With practice, it can be an interesting element at the moment of the wine’s visual examination. Observing the legs can also be useful when you’re tasting several glasses of wine (remember to spit the wine in that case). While a mystical character was sometimes attributed to these legs, they are in fact due to a physical phenomenon explained below.
Why do wine legs appear?
There are different reasons why such legs appear. They are explained by physics and by the work of scientists. That said, various factors can influence their appearance.
The physics behind wine legs: the Marangoni effect
In physics, wine legs are explained by the Marangoni effect. Carlo Marangoni is a physicist of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly known for his work on fluid mechanics. The general statement of his theorem is as follows: “a liquid with a high surface tension pulls more strongly on the surrounding liquid than a liquid with low tension”. That said, we’re not much further along after reading that statement. What you need to remember is that the evaporation of alcohol on the wall of the glass is easier than in the wine itself. So the liquid on the walls contains less alcohol and, relatively, more water. That’s what creates wine legs. In other words, wine legs are in no way the proof of a grand cru or something that lets you judge its quality. They’re actually a demonstrated physical phenomenon.
The factors that lead to legs developing in wine
Several elements can influence the appearance of legs, but also their size and the speed at which they run. First of all, temperature is an important factor in the appearance and development of legs. Indeed, the higher the temperature, the greater the evaporation of the wine. If you understood the previous paragraph: the evaporation of alcohol on the walls of the glass encourages the legs. Next, the wine glass itself can explain the development of legs. The glass only needs to be a little dusty for the wine to stay clinging to the walls. This will naturally lead to the appearance and reinforcement of the wine’s legs. Finally, the sugar present in the wine also plays an important role in the legs. The sweeter the wine, the denser it is, and so the longer the legs take to run and the more pronounced they are. If you’re curious, you can run a nice experiment at home. Take a dry white wine and put it in the fridge. Serve it very cold and observe the wine’s legs. Then pour yourself a glass of sweet white wine at room temperature and repeat the same observation. You’ll see that the legs are much more pronounced in the second case. If you want to take the experiment further, you can serve the same wine cold and at room temperature. Then watch the drops of wine run down the walls. The legs will be more pronounced in the wine served at room temperature.
What are the names for this phenomenon?
The other name for wine legs is very well known: tears. But it’s not the only one. You’ll also find other names such as “weepers”, “thighs”, “arches”, or “fingers”. So there are many ways to describe this phenomenon. That said, the most widespread remains legs (or tears). Now it’s up to you to use these names wisely. It’s your turn to let loose in all your next tastings: all that’s left is to raise a toast! Finally, if you know other names given to this phenomenon, we’ll be delighted to include them here. So don’t hesitate to get in touch.
You now fully understand legs in wine. They no longer hold any secrets for you, and you’ll be able to revel in them at your next tastings. Are they important or not? Do they run quickly? Take the opportunity to fill in a tasting sheet based on your discoveries! And good news, you can receive one for free.
