While quaint and rustic, those glasses are not ideal for wines. Presentation, in food or drink, is part of the enjoyment and the correct glass enhances the appearance and bouquet of a beverage. While colored glasses are very pretty, they are not ideal for wine and are best used in other ways.
So what is the best wine glass?
The Riedel family has been producing glassware since the 18th Century and they have contributed immensely to the evolution of the wine glass. Claus Josef Riedel was the first to develop wine friendly stemware. Today’s clear, unadorned long-stemmed glasses were his vision. Prior to that, wine glasses were commonly made of cut, colored glass. He recognized that the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wine were affected by the shape of the glass and a clear glass allowed you to properly examine the color of the wine. His son Georg Josef Riedel took it one step further and developed varietal specific wine glasses. Every grape variety has its own specific glass shape.
The shape and size of a glass helps to direct the wine to hit specific points on your tongue. For example, a highly tannic red wine with moderate acidity and a full-bodied white wine also with moderate acidity benefit from a glass which directs the wine to the centre of the tongue. In contrast, red wine that is of higher acidity and moderate tannins or a highly acidic white wine is best served in a glass that allows the wine to hit the tip of the tongue first. This action highlights the fruit component of the wine and balances out the high acidity. The other important factor in a wine glass is the rim. A cut rim is preferred to a rolled rim because it allows the wine to flow smoothly onto the tongue.
When wine is poured it immediately begins to evaporate and the aromas fill the glass in layers based on their density and specific gravity. By using this concept, glassware can be created to enhance the typical aromas of a grape varietal. The shape of the glass influences how you drink by forcing you to position your head in such a way that when the liquid flows it will hit specific taste zones of your palate. Glasses are an extension of the wine and should enhance its qualities not its faults.
Most of us don’t have the budget or the room to store wine glasses for every type of wine we drink. As a general rule of thumb, red wine in large glasses, white wine in medium size glasses, champagne flutes for champagne and small glasses for spirits. The small glass helps emphasize the fruit character by minimizing the alcohol impact. Never overfill a glass. Allow room for the aromas to gather. The recommended serving size for red wine is 4-5 oz, white wine 3 oz and spirits 1 oz.
A few years ago there was a trend toward wine glasses without stems. I personally am not a fan. You should never hold your glass by the bowl as you end up warming up your wine and changing its service temperature. Those do make lovely water glasses though. You should also never top up a wine glass. It is best to finish a glass of wine completely before refilling it. By adding new wine to wine that is already in the glass you are inadvertently creating a blend. For example, if you are serving a chilled wine, the wine in the glass is a different temperature than the one in the bottle. The new combination will result in a glass of wine that is not the ideal temperature. For a red, what is in the glass has opened and is different than what is in the bottle.
Admittedly, the differences are small but now that you’ve gone to all the trouble to find the perfect wine glass, might as well enjoy the perfect glass of wine.
