One third of people in Leeds can't pronounce the world's top wines

If you crack over Chianti, get tongue-tied at Tempranillo or hit rock-bottom with Rioja, you are not alone.

A third of people in Leeds don’t drink the wine they want - because they can’t pronounce it.

A survey of 2,000 people by Spanish wine brand Marqués de Cáceres has revealed just how many Brits are getting in a tizzy over the names of their favourite tipples.

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Almost two thirds of people in Leeds can’t pronounce Chianti correctly (60 per cent), just over a quarter says Rioja in the right way and nearly three quarters slip up when trying to say Riesling.

This leads to awkward social situations, with a third saying they’ve changed their order in a restaurant or shop because they couldn’t pronounce it, almost half (49 per cent) pointing at a bottle rather than attempting to say its name and just over half (52 per cent) admitted they’ve been corrected by someone else when they’ve tried to say the name of a wine and got it wrong.

As well as the names, it appears there’s a lot we don’t know about wine in Leeds.

Of those surveyed, four per cent believe you should drink red wine at temperatures above 20 degrees celsius, while over a quarter (27 per cent) insist it is served below ten degrees celsius. The ideal temperature for serving red wine is 15 degrees celsius.

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When it comes to white wine, which should be served at a crisp, chilled nine degrees celsius, six per cent would serve it at temperatures above 20 degrees celsius, with a quarter opting for temperatures below five degrees celsius.

We are equally clueless when it comes to the country of origin of some of the world’s most popular drinks. Almost three fifths of Leeds don’t know where Rioja is from (Spain), nearly as many (60 per cent) don’t know that Prosecco is Italian, while even more (65 per cent) do not know Chianti is Italian and over half do not know Riesling predominantly comes from Germany.

Instead, we choose our wines for different reasons with more than half selecting a bottle purely on price, around a quarter going on a name they’ve previously heard of and some even looking first at the alcoholic strength of the wine before making a choice - this goes for one in 10 men and eight per cent of women.

Cristina Forner, president of Marqués de Cáceres, says: “People should not be afraid of asking the name on a bottle of wine, nor of getting it wrong. You’ll only get it wrong once.

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“It’s what is the liquid inside the bottle that matters and by trying new things, people can educate themselves on what they like when it comes to wine.

“When I’m not sure of a wine I’ll simply take a photo of the label on my phone and then I always have it to show at bars or shops.

“Drinking ‘like the locals’ on holiday helps too, as you can discover names that are not as everyday as some of the labels we see in supermarkets.”