Wine lovers have many different ways to enjoy their favourite glass of plonk. Whether that's decanting the bottle, picking a wider cup to drink from, or swirling the glass before tasting.
However, do any of these things make a difference? Well… as this Reactions YouTube video produced by American Chemical Society and PBS Digital Studio shows, some work better than others.
But let's dive in with some fact or fiction:
1. Does the shape of the glass affect the taste of the wine?
Although this sounds like something that's definitely made up, it's actually true! As Mandy Oser, a sommelier from New York City explains in the video below: "the style of glassware is helping to concentrate the aromas, which helps to enhance your experience of the wine."
Because the 'flavours' that people talk about in wine are usually scents and not actual flavours, this actually kind of makes sense.
2. Does swirling and slurping your wine enhance the flavour?
This is the same kinda deal as the wine glass shape. When you swirl or slurp your wine, you're introducing more oxygen into the wine, so it has the ability to release more of those aromas, creating more distinct 'flavours'.
3. Can people actually taste all those weird wine flavours?
When you drink a wine, can people REALLY taste all those different flavours – plums, vanilla, oak, banana? It all seems a bit much, but it's actually true!
The reason you can 'taste' or smell these flavours is because the wine they're drinking shares some of the same molecules with whatever they're smelling.
4. Do you need to let your wine breathe before you drink it?
Well this one we thought would be a given – everyone's always told to let the wine breathe, but apparently, it's not really a one size fits all approach.
According to the video, decanting wine used to be much more important when wines had more sulphur dioxide in them.
Sulphur dioxide would turn into sulphide, which can be used as a preservative, but gives an off smell. However, the compound is not used nearly as much as it used to be, so feel free to swig away at your wine as soon as you open the bottle!
We'll let the Reactions Team explain the rest of the facts in the video below. All we'll say is, you probably don't need to buy that $100 of wine.