The Amateur Wino

By now you have surely noticed that wine glasses come in many shapes and sizes.  Most people can tell the difference between a champagne flute and a typical wine glass, but one trip down a store’s isle and you’ll see there are many more styles of wine glasses to be had.

To be completely honest I was unsure of the differences myself, why are some shallow and fat, while others are long and thin?  I pondered this question when one night while dining out, the waitress removed the wine glass alreadyplaced before me and said that she would bring me a “red wine” glass and be right back.  What was the difference I wondered?  Does it really matter what glass you are drinking from?  Would it make my wine taste differently?  I mean, I recently watched a movie that was set in the wine country of France and the characters there were constantly drinking their wine from what looked like good old juice glasses…. hmm… Time to research..

Turns out that certain wine glasses can make you experience different characteristics of your wine!  The width of the mouth of the glasses can be specifically designed to deliver the wine to areas of the mouth that are most favorable to the characteristics of certain varietals.  The other most common reason for the difference in sizes, is that some wines like the ones of the red varietals, need more oxidation, or time to breathe, than others.  Therefore, a wider mouth on the wine glass allows more air to  reach the wine and quickens the oxidation process.  Sparkling wines like champagne are served in long slender glasses as this allows the “sparkling” effect to continue for a longer period of time.

An additional difference in wine glasses is the material from which they are made.  Some are made from cut glass, some from blown glass, and others from what is referred to as “lead crystal”.  The type of glass will not affect the way your wine tastes however.  The difference in the glass more commonly affects the way a wines clarity will come across when in the glass.  In my humble wino opinion, this is a feature that is most popular for serious wine drinkers.  As an amateur wino, I’m not terribly concerned with my wines clarity in the glass.  I’m more concerned with my wine making it from my glass to my mouth. 

Another popular difference in wine glasses is a stemmed glass versus a stemless glass.   In actuality, the stem of a wine glass serves a purpose, it’s there for you to hold on to your wine glass sure, but it’s also the most proper method for drinking wine.  Holding the glass by the stem, and not the bowl, insures that the contact from the warmth of your hand will not interfere with the temperature of your wine and as you probably know by now, temperature will make a difference in taste.  It also prevents from leaving unsightly fingerprints on the bowl of the glass, which can affect the color and clarity of your wine.  In case you missed it…. see the previous paragraph for my opinion on the clarity of wine in a glass. 

Most casual drinkers won’t care much whether they have the proper glass for Merlot or Chardonnay.  I’ll admit that I’ve been know to drink my Pinot Noir from a red dixie cup when at a barbecue or camping, but it’s not a bad idea to have one set of white wine glasses and one set of red wine glasses if you so choose.  It just might not be necessary to pick up every variety of glass out there. 

If you are very serious about matching your wine with your glass, or maybe you will be hosting a special occasion and want to leave a good impression with all your wine drinking friends,  Riedel has a great online tool for picking the right glass at www.wineglassguide.com.  You simply choose your wine varietal from the menu and it will supply you with a variety of wine glasses appropriate to use with your wine, complete with visual aides.

Until next time… I’m off to master the art of drinking wine by holding my glass by the stem…  Happy Tasting!