Viscosity

If you enjoy wine, I’m sure you’ve noticed in your glass after swirling that beading forms and eventually drips down the side. These oozing drips are called “legs”. Both beading and legs indicate viscosity or richness in a wine. How thick the beading is and how fast or slow the legs come down the side can tell you how rich the wine will be when it’s eventually in your mouth. The thicker the beading and slower the legs, the richer the wine! Alcohol levels, oak treatment, fermentation temperatures or sugar content can affect the viscosity. So wines with higher alcohol, more oak or sweetness, generally show better viscosity. Just keep in mind that your glassware must be impeccably clean and void of any residual detergent to properly see this.