# Wine and fingers



## Michael Vino (Mar 23, 2007)

The other day I was speaking to a friend about wine and she asked what does it mean when someone describes a wine as having fingers..... I told her I was unsure but knew of this great web site/forum that I would ask and see what that means.........


Thanks in advance.....mike


----------



## summersolstice (Mar 23, 2007)

Do you think she could have meantlarger appendages such as"legs"?


----------



## Michael Vino (Mar 23, 2007)

Rule G -- unsure. 
Do "legs" have a meaning towards wine tasting?


----------



## rshosted (Mar 23, 2007)

When you swirl a glass and it leaves a clear line of where the wine was swirled up to (on the sides of the glass), then it runs down in 'lines' often called "legs" or "fingers" 

Some say the more you can see legs in wine the higher quality wine. I personally have tasted wine with and without legs and not noticed that much. Though I will say you can usually tell a sweeter wine from the legs. I believe it is because the sugar seems to be a little thicker on the glass and takes a little longer to run back to the bottom. 

I like to swirl and look becuase it also improves the ability to notice the boquet of the wine.


----------



## NorthernWinos (Mar 23, 2007)

Here are a few more works to describe wines....







http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/words.htm


----------



## Francie (Mar 23, 2007)

One more note on "fingers/legs", the more distinct they are, the more body the wine will have. For example, a Pinot Grigio will not be as noticable as a Chard.


2 cents


----------



## masta (Mar 23, 2007)

<DIV id=aCtt>The fingers or legs:


Every once in a while you will see someone swirl their glass of wine, raise it towards the light and watch with bated breath for the wine's legs to appear, a mythical indicator of wine quality. These legs, or tears as the French refer to them, are the streaks of wine forming on the side of the wine glass. The legs were once thought to be associated with a wine's quality (the more legs, the higher the quality). However, the legs have more to do with physics, the wine's surface tension and alcohol content, than perceived quality. Wine is a mixture of alcohol and water, the alcohol has a faster evaporation rate and a lower surface tension than water, effectively forcing the alcohol to evaporate at a faster rate. This dynamic allows the water's surface tension and concentration to increase, pushing the legs up the glass until the surface tension pushes the water into beads. Finally, gravity wins the battle and forces the liquid to tear down the glass in a defeated streak. Still not convinced that it's physics and not quality that drives this phenomenon? Try covering your next glass of wine and see if the legs present dramatically decrease when covered compared to when open. No evaporation, no legs. Enjoy none the less.


----------



## jsmahoney (Mar 24, 2007)

Well done masta!


----------



## Michael Vino (Mar 26, 2007)

rshosted, northern wino, francie and masta thank you all for the information and education. I knew I came to the right place to learn...
You guys (and girls) ROCK!


----------

