What are 'legs' or 'tears' in a glass of wine?

You're sitting at the table, swirling your glass of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. And there they go again, those viscous droplets cascading down the glass like tiny waterfalls. Wine tears, wine legs, whatever you call them. You stare at them and wonder: "What are these tears, really?"

You're certainly not alone in this. In a restaurant, you've probably heard someone say confidently, "Look at the tears in that glass, this must be an excellent wine." And you thought, "Uh, yeah... I guess, whatever."

The phenomenon of wine tears fascinates people, but most of the stories told about it are often false. Even those "wise" pronouncements in restaurants often come from people who know as much as you do.

Why No One Tells You the Truth

The wine industry perpetuates myths because mystique sells. A wine that "has nice legs" sounds much more romantic than one with an "alcohol content of 14.5%," right?

Winemakers, sommeliers, and even wine critics use these terms. Why? Because it sounds impressive; it makes the story much more compelling. They know better, but they don't want to spoil the magic, and I can't blame them for that.

There's just one problem with that, of course. You're being fooled a bit. Or maybe not fooled, but this story is leading you to draw the wrong conclusions from your perception of what the glass in front of you looks like. This leads to decisions about wine being based on false information.

The biggest myths about wine legs

So, let's debunk the most persistent myths. These stories seem logical, but they're not scientifically sound:

• Number 1: More legs = better wine
  This myth is widespread. "Look at those thick, slow tears, these are top-quality." False.
  
  A cheap €5.99 Primitivo can have more impressive tears than an €80 Grand Cru Chablis. Why? Because that cheap wine is full of sugar and alcohol, but still tastes like sweet water.
  
  
• Number 2: Only expensive wines have beautiful tears
  This myth is just as bad and untrue. People think tears are a sign of quality.
  
  The reality is that even cheap supermarket wine sheds tears It's physics, not a sign of divine approval.

So why you shouldn't listen to those myths

This misinformation causes you to prioritize incorrectly when choosing or evaluating a wine. You focus on tears, while aroma, flavor, finish, and balance are far more important.

You can miss great wines because they have fewer tears. Some Loire wines are elegant and complex but have barely any visible tears due to their low alcohol content.

The science

Time for the facts: what's actually happening? This is where things get a bit technical.

The Gibbs-Marangoni effect

Wine is a mixture of water and alcohol. Alcohol evaporates faster than water. When you swirl wine, a thin layer spreads across the glass. The alcohol evaporates more quickly, creating surface tension.

Water has a stronger surface tension than alcohol. As more alcohol evaporates, the tension pulls the liquid up against the glass wall. Eventually, gravity wins, and those characteristic droplets form.

So the real cause is the evaporation of the alcohol.

The alcohol content determines how noticeable the tears are. An Amarone with 15% alcohol shows much more pronounced tears than a Vinho Verde with 9%. Why? Because of differences in viscosity and alcohol evaporation, not because one wine is better than another.

Why quality has nothing to do with wine tears

Quality is determined by taste, balance, Aromas, finish, longevity, and a whole host of other factors, but not because of the tears in your glass. It looks nice, says something about the alcohol, which certainly says something about the taste, but that's about it.

By understanding that those tears say little about quality, you can better enjoy the wine based on what is truly important.

If you really want to say something useful about wine based purely on visual inspection, focus on the color, its gradient and depth, and its clarity. That tells you more about age, intensity, and so on.