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Choosing the Right Wine Glass
In order to get the most enjoyment out of every bottle of wine, you should give a little thought to choosing the wine glasses. There are many different types of wine glasses of varying styles, quality, colors and unique designs. There are a number of manufacturers of fine, and somewhat expensive, crystal glasses, designed specifically for use with certain wines, such as white, red and champagne. However, it isn't necessary to spend a lot of money for your wine glasses. But you should purchase glasses with stems (stemware) to avoid warming the bowl of the glass with your hands.
When choosing wine glasses, pay attention to the material it's made from. It really should be clear glass because part of the enjoyment of wine is an appreciation of it's color. The color alone can give you a lot of infromation about the wine such as the grapes used and the age of the wine. Wine glasses made from colored or frosted glass will affect the visual impact of the wine's colorations. Of course, solid materials such as pewter or silver will not permit you to enoy the wine's color at all except from the top. There are those that feel that cut crystal or cut glass changes the appearance of your wine because of defracting light. So choose a glass that you can see clearly through to appreciate your wine to it's fullest. When choosing wine glasses, make sure that you select glasses that are a good size. You don't want to be stingy with the portion you pour but you still want to leave enough room for it to be swirled without spilling it. Swirling your wine in the wine glass first to release the aromas from the wine is considered very important. The bouquet or fragrance of a wine is another telltale factor in regards to the type of grapes used. Many types of wine glasses are too small to use for wine and are best used for liquores or after dinner sherry. The glass must have a stem. As previously stated, this is not just because it's pretty but mainly so that the glass can be held without touching the bowl of the wine glass. Holding the wine glass by the stem keeps the warmth - body heat, from the hand from warming the wine in the glass. Besides, it keeps fingerprints from giving a sparkling glass an appearance of being dirty. The shape of the bowl in a wine glass is also important. Good wine glasses taper a little bit at the top. The lower part of the bowl is wider than the mouth of the glass. This has a functional purpose besides being pretty. The tapered shape allows the bouquet of the wine to concentrate in the area under your nose after it has been swirled. So, while a wide mouth margarita glass may appeal to your sense of style and fun, it will not allow you to fully appreciate a good wine.
Types of Wine Glasses
There are a variety of wine glass types. The basic types are for red wines, white wines and of course, champagne. The red wines should be served in a wine glass that has a slightly larger bowl and have a more rounded or "balloon" appearance. White wines are served in a wine glass that has a slightly smaller bowl with a slight tapering at the top. Champagnes or sparkling wines are best served in flutes to better concentrate the effervescense of it. Caring For Your Glasses Glasses should be washed between use. There are some that believe that you should only use hot water. Others say that a good detergent should be used. It really doesn't matter as long as the glass is rinsed well and there is no residual wine left in or on the glass. Nothing ruins the taste of a good wine (or any drink) like the flavor of dishwater soap so make sure that if you use detergent, you rinse them very, very well. Hold the glasses up to the light to make sure there are no residue on them. Residue from hard water or dust will keep a sparkling wine or champagne from fizzing. Once you have them washed, allow them to drip dry and then polish them with a clean, dry cloth to remove unsightly water spots. Wine glasses should be stored upright in a clean, odor free cabinet or hutch. Simply wipe with a clean cloth and they are ready to use again.
Specialty Glasses Serve brandy in a traditional brandy snifter. The large bowl combined with the short stem allows the drinker to cup the bowl of the glass in the hand. This action allows the heat of the hand to gently warm the brandy and bring out the aroma in the drink. Serve sweet sparkling wines in what is known as a "cup." These broad, shallow glasses are often mistaken for proper champagne glasses but are really better suited to the aromatic flavors of sweet sparkling wines. These types are often used for wedding toasts instead of a flute.
Serve port or cognac in slender glasses. Depending on what you have available, a narrow white wine glass or champagne flute will work nicely but glassware is available that is specifically designed for these types of drinks.
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Contributor's Note
Images shown are an example of red wine and white wine style glasses.
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