For more interesting wine fallacies, read Debunking wine myths: Part 1

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Knowledge is power right? When it comes to wine, that's especially true, so here are six more common myths that need setting straight. So the next time some server or oenophile tries to intimidate you (and you know they will!) you'll have an army of info to fight back with. Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Myth #7
Cooking wine is good for cooking

No, no, no. If you taste wine from a dusty old bottle on the top shelf of your local grocery store and you don't like it, don't add it to your food. That same nasty flavour will transfer to your food and become more concentrated. The rule here is if you don't like a wine (even if it's a $20 bottle) don't cook with it -- only add wine to your food that you'd drink yourself. But also remember that expensive doesn't necessarily mean better, so opt for something in the middle.

Myth #8
Serve white wine chilled and red wine at room temperature

This is a good rule in general but unless you have a temperature-controlled wine cellar most of us serve our whites too cold (just out of the fridge) and our reds too warm (from on top of the fridge?!). Your icebox is somewhere between 3-5˚C and most whites should be served around 7-10˚C. Chilling makes white wine more refreshing but it also suppresses flavour. To truly taste the wine's full body, take it out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.

Reds on the other hand are usually served at room temperature (22˚C) while they should be cooled slightly (to 15˚C) to help suppress some of the unpleasant alcohol flavour that occurs when the wine is too warm. To do this, submerge the bottle in an ice bucket filled with cold water and ice for five minutes before corking.

Myth #9
Cheap wine is bad wine

Not necessarily. While generally you get what you pay for, there are some wines out there priced as little as $8 that are great (and cheap) gems. It takes some searching but look for wines from less popular regions (eastern Europe is a great place to start) or lesser-known varietals like Baco Noir. Easy-drinking and affordable, these wines are great to have on hand when thirsty guests arrive unannounced. Click here to read our list of value wines.

Myth #10
Blended wines are inferior to single-grape wines

Ever put down a bottle in the store because all it said was "red wine" on the label? Old world wine makers (France, Italy) are experts at blending different grape varietals to produce well-rounded wines with a lot of character and plenty of depth. What does that mean? Well, often single-grape wines (think Merlot, Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon) have a big initial impact on the palate -- of berries or black pepper for example -- and then the flavour is gone. It's like perfume. Good blends balance out top notes (plums, for instance) with hearty notes of cinnamon and vanilla base, so what the drinker gets is a complex wine with many layers of flavour and a wine that lingers long after it's swallowed.

Myth #11
White wines are always made from white grapes

Ever squeeze a red grape between your fingers and notice the juice that comes out is clear? That's because red wine gets its colour not from the juice of the grapes but from the skins. Similarly, some white wines are made from red grapes. Most Champagne is a blend of Chardonnay grapes and red Pinot Noir grapes, with the skins removed. The French term blanc de noir refers to white wines made entirely from red grapes, usually Pinot Noir. White Zinfandel is a common blush wine from California that's made from red Zinfandel grapes, with the skins of the grapes removed early in the wine-making process, giving the wine its pink colouring.

Myth #12
Legs are an indicator of a wine's quality

Legs -- the viscous streams that run down the inside of a glass after it's swirled -- have no bearing on the quality of a wine. Big, voluptuous legs indicate a wine high in alcohol while svelte, lean legs show a wine with a lower alcohol content. Why? Well that's a whole physics lesson of its own, with a less than fascinating outcome. Just trust us.

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Ryan Jennings and David Steele are the best-selling authors of Cooking with Booze. Visit their website at www.cookingwithbooze.com for more info.