My year of wine: Why half a glass is always half-full rather than half-empty

26 August 2014 - 02:00 By Jackie May
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My husband, who barely drinks, fills my wine glass to the brim in the evenings, and then wonders why I don't get up in the morning to make school lunches.

I don't complain. But I should. If he (and I) followed certain rules and guidelines, I'd drink far less and appreciate the wine far more.

It turns out that it is common for men who have never been taught otherwise to overfill wine glasses.

A recent study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy found that men with an average body mass index poured 9% more wine than women with an average BMI. It also found that those who poured too much wine into a glass were overweight men - they poured as much as 31% more than usual.

The usual in this case is half a glass, following the half-glass rule, which is promoted to avoid excessive drinking. The study also showed that people poured more wine into wider glasses.

Not only is the half-glass rule good for your health and safety, it is a good idea for wine appreciation. Not filling the wine to the brim of the glass allows the wine to aerate, which opens up its flavours and allows tannins to soften.

Not filling the glass too much also gives the drinker space to swirl without spilling, then take a long sniff for a good whiff without getting her nose wet.

Generally, it is recommended that for red wines you pour out a third of a glass and for white wines you fill the glass about halfway. The half-glass rule doesn't seem like such a bad idea, after all. But it could mean I may have to get up too early in the mornings. To avoid this I will have to drink a few half-glasses to make up for the full glasses. Then I could still get out of doing my morning chores.

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