what causes the fingers on a glass of wine?

Answer 1

I'm guessing that by 'fingers', you mean the lines of liquid that run down the side of the glass after you swirl it. These are more often called 'legs' or occasionally 'tears'.

They're caused by the viscosity of the alcohol, and the resulting surface tension created on the glass. As a general rule, the higher the alcohol, the longer and bigger the legs will be. (This is what is meant by somebody saying that a wine has 'great legs'). This is also why spirits (whisky, etc...) will have longer legs than wine.

There are some exceptions to this. Sugar in a wine will also cause more legs to form. Carbonation (as in champagne) will reduce the surface tension, thus shrinking the legs. As well, soap residue on the inside of the glass will significantly reduce the surface tension able to be created. This is why if you wash a glass with just water, the legs will form better than if you wash it in soapy water (especially if you don't rinse it properly).

Hope that helps. If you need anything further explained, just send me a message.

Answer 2

it is the alcohol content in the wine which creates the body of the wine. the greater the alcohol more the body and hence sticks to to the glass and will tend to linger there longer then the wine its self, creating the fingers you are referring to.commonly known as legs

Answer 3

Hey John if you're talking about the ribbons of wine that flow back into the bowl after swirling. They are called legs. And they are caused by gravity and are indicative of sugar content and alcohol content.

Answer 4

Wow. I'm not a wine snob and I have no idea what you mean. I'll check back for the answer.

Answer 5

never heard of this
finger print oil?

Answer 6

Finger prints? or what?

Answer 7

sugar