Legs, ahem. Like Women…

Also known as tears in Spain and cathedral windows in Germany, “legs” are the rivulets of wine that have inched up the inside surface of the glass above the wine, then slowly fall back down. Myth has it that the more impressive the legs, the better the wine. This is not true. The width of legs is primarily determined by (stay  with me) the interrelationship of the amount of alcohol, the amount of glycerol, and the rate of evaporation of the alcohol, and the surface tension between solids and liquids. Alas, legs have nothing to do with a wine’s quality. It is irresistible to point out that wines–like women– should not be judged by their legs.