Berger: Debunking five common wine myths

The woman was adamant: rosé wines are undrinkable, she said.

I was at a wedding reception, and the woman didn’t know what I did for a living. The wine she had in her glass was from the hotel’s bar, a sweet, not-very-interesting pink. After two sips, she unceremoniously disposed of it on the lawn and sought the refuge of the white - a sweet chardonnay.

Had I had the time to show her, I could have poured her a glass of the 2014 J. Pedroncelli Zinfandel Rosé or the 2014 Inman Family Rosé of Pinot Noir. That might have done it. Both wines are basically dry and loaded with so much fruit they are stellar for wine lovers.

But the hotel had neither. In any case, even had I showed her such wines, likely she would still have held to the cherished myth that all pink wines are bad wines.

I hear a lot of myths. Most fascinate me since so many are so off-base that I take notes and then periodically revisit them in columns like this one.

Here are a few myths I have heard (in varying forms) over the years:

“California white wines gives me a headache. It’s the sulfites they put in it. But I have no problems with French wine.”

I have heard this one in myriad forms. All white wines are roughly the same. True, California wineries do use sulfites in wine as a preservative. But so do the French. Sulfur dioxide has been used in wine making for roughly 2,000 years and today its use is lower than it has ever been. And it almost never leads to headaches.

“We had a white wine that had glass in it.”

The chance that a commercial wine had glass in it is so infinitesimal it makes winning the lottery look like even money. Likely what this woman saw in her wine was tartrate crystals. The wine probably still had some tartaric acid crystals. When the wine was chilled below a certain point, most such crystals precipitate out. Such crystals are tasteless and harmless - and look like glass.

“This wine is corked.”

I got caught in this flap some time ago between a diner and a sommelier who were arguing over a white wine. I was at the next table, and this argument between the ill-trained wine waiter and the bore was interrupting my dinner.

The diner claimed the wine was off; the waiter said it was fine. Both, as it turned out, were wrong.

I shouldn’t have, but I asked if I could help. The wine was reduced - that is, it smelled a bit too much of sulfur dioxide, which may have been added in too large a dose. It simply needed aeration. I suggested the wine be splashed into a decanter and allowed to sit for a few minutes to allow the SO2 to aerate.

Despite thinking I was daft - who aerates a white wine? - they tried it. After 15 minutes in the decanter, the wine was better.

“This wine is so light in color, it’s probably cheap.”

The poor soul who uttered this inanity was under the influence of the “bigger is better” school of wine evaluation. He believed that color, in and of itself, is an indicator of how good a wine is. People like this ought to be sent to a sort of purgatory, forced to eternally consume only pitch-black wines.

Wine lovers around the world know that most great pinot noirs and French Burgundy can be delicate and still full of loads of flavor. They know that pinot noir lacks a number of the color-producing pigments in its skin to make a very dark wine. Without further elaboration, I stand by the fact that the color of a wine has little to do with its quality.

“Sherry? Isn’t that for derelicts?”

Hardly. The fellow who uttered this moronic statement did so just after I had suggested that a bowl of soup we had all just been served would have been benefited from a dollop of dry sherry.

Anyone who has ever tasted a fine, old, dry Oloroso sherry, an Amontillado, or especially a Palo Cortado, or anyone who has sipped a bone-dry fino with a consommé, would understand that sherry is one of the most sublime products man produces.

Derelicts would, in fact, also love these succulent and richly flavored Spanish wines, but could ill afford the best, which sell for $20 and more.

Just because Aunt Gertrude used to tip a tad of sherry before bedtime is no reason to disparage one of the oldest and noblest of wines.

Heard any wine myths lately?

Wine of the Week: 2014 Balletto Pinot Gris, Russian River Valley ($22) – Dramatic wildflower, blossoms, and peach/tropical fruit aroma notes and a nicely balanced mid-palate that works well with non-spicy Asian foods.

Sonoma County resident Dan Berger publishes “Vintage Experiences,” a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.