What do the wine's legs indicate?
Lacrime: LAH-kree-meh. Literally 'tears' — the droplets that run down the glass after swirling.
Ask a sommelier when you notice the rivulets running down the inside of the glass after swirling. This is a common question that reveals something about the wine's alcohol content.
Lacrime del vino (wine tears or wine legs) are the rivulets that form on the inside of a glass after swirling. They indicate alcohol level and body — more and slower legs suggest higher alcohol and more glycerol.
Molte lacrime indicano alto contenuto alcolico?
Do many legs indicate high alcohol content?
More or less — it's the Marangoni effect (surface tension).
Questo vino ha molta struttura.
This wine has a lot of structure.
Struttura — body and overall intensity of the wine.
È un vino molto calorico?
Is it a very calorific wine?
Alcohol = calories — a question more common than you'd think.
Amarone della Valpolicella, made from partially dried Corvina grapes in Verona's hills, is one of Italy's most powerful wines — typically 15-17% alcohol. The drying process (appassimento) concentrates both sugars and flavour compounds, creating extraordinary complexity.