Monday, November 18, 2013

Tears of Joy


When you pour yourself a glass of wine, ever notice the beading on the glass that turns into tears or legs that ooze down the side? These droplets are cause by glycerol, a sugar alcohol compound, and are usually an indication of richness once the wine is in the mouth. Higher alcohol, residual sugar, wood contact and higher fermentation temperatures can all increase the definition of the beading and especially the tears and slow down the vertical movement in the glass. Clean stemware is absolutely imperative for this to show properly. For some folks these droplets or legs are merely liquid rolling down the side of a tasting glass, but for wine lovers, anticipating a richer wine, they truly are “tears of joy”. 

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