We all have certain quirks that come about from stories we've overheard.  Did you hear about this or that?  You know what they say about whatever it may be?  Sometimes, we take in so much information that it gets all jumbled and ends up wrong.  Other times, we're just fed the wrong information from the start.  In this area, I will unveil common wine and wine making myths so you are free to explore the wonderful world of wine fueled with the facts.

• Real Chablis doesn’t come in a jug or a box.  It comes from the region of Chablis in northern Burgundy about 100 miles southeast of Paris.  Made of 100% Chardonnay grapes, it has been a part of wine and human history for over 1,500 years.  The soil of the region is what makes Chablis so unique and one of the wine world’s most exquisite wines.
• Zinfandel is not a white or pink wine.  It is a red grape that is big and full-bodied and goes well with pizza and red pasta sauce.

• Sniffing the cork or checking the condition of the cork will not tell you if the wine is good or bad.  Many tainted wines have had perfect corks removed and many perfect wines have had imperfect corks removed.  The true test of whether a wine is tainted or not is to taste the wine.

• There is no little guy behind the counter in European wine shops adding sulfites to wines that Americans buy; and sulfites are not intentionally added to wines purchased internationally for export to America, all wines contain sulfites which is a natural preservative.

• Using the terms Jammy, Jamminess and Fruit Forward as descriptors has become trendy.  On the upside, the terms may mean that there is an intense fruit flavor in the wine; the grapes were picked at optimal ripeness and the result is a wine with concentrated flavors.  On the downside, it’s a wine that is one-dimensional; all fruit on the front of the palate and nothing in the middle or finish.  Beware of a wine that is proffered solely on its jammy characteristic.