When In Rome, Add A Pinch Of Salt To Elevate Your Glass Of Red Wine
Just like we use salt to enhance our food's flavor (after all, even sweet recipes call for a pinch of salt), the same can apply to a glass of red wine. Yes, you read that right. Since red wine is made from fermented grapes, it already has some natural acidity and sweetness, but it often lacks a solid savory note to balance out the drink. That's where salt comes in.
This simple seasoning awakens taste receptors in our mouths that otherwise remain dormant. So, adding salt to our food and drinks really does make for a better overall tasting experience, revealing deeper notes of flavor across the bitter-to-sweet spectrum. As for wine, in particular, the addition further enhances the drink's sweet notes while reducing our perceptions of its acidity, creating a better overall flavor. This is why wines often come paired with salty or savory dishes.
So, adding a pinch of salt to red wine really does make for a well-balanced taste, but this realization isn't anything new. It's exactly why the Ancient Romans used to make wine with salt water taken straight from the sea.
The ancient origins of this unexpected addition
While the notion of adding salt to a drink (besides a margarita, of course) may seem odd at first, this simple practice actually comes with a whole lot of benefits. Plus, this idea is hardly revolutionary, as it's actually been in practice since ancient times. In Ancient Rome, seawater was a common ingredient in winemaking, as it added an unexpected salty component that, as we've described, enhanced the drink's overall flavors. (It also enhanced the drink's longevity since salt is a well-known preservative.) This seawater was sourced far away from the shore where the sea salt was of higher quality.
While some may turn up their nose at a practice that's thousands of years old, experiments performed by prominent modern-day winemakers show that it has the same positive effects today. For example, according to Atlas Obscura, winemaker Hervé Durand headed an experiment in 2020 comparing wines made with differing amounts of seawater. He found that, while wines made with an excess of salt—anywhere between 5% and 10% of the total mixture—were not ideal, those made with a small percentage of seawater, as little as 1%, tasted much better than those with no salt at all. The salt was not detectable, but it did make the wine taste more smooth and well-rounded.
How to try this hack for yourself
To taste the difference salt makes in a glass of wine for yourself, the steps are pretty simple. Just pop open your favorite bottle of wine, pour some in a glass, and sprinkle in a pinch of salt. From table to kosher, many different salts can create an amazing taste, so use what you have on hand and see how the addition enhances the drink.
This simple hack works to elevate any type of wine, from a complex red to a sweet white, but it's especially helpful when you've got yourself a cheap, overly sweet bottle. A pinch of salt can reveal the hidden savory notes in the drink, creating a much smoother overall taste. (This means that if you're in the market for an affordable red wine blend, you don't have to sacrifice flavor.)
Still, some people might argue against this tip, as every bottle of wine has been specially crafted by expert winemakers, and alterations will disrupt the intended taste. In that case, we would argue that once a bottle of wine leaves the vineyard, it's up to the consumer to decide how they can enjoy it. The choice is really up to you.