Learn about the Nuances of Wine Glasses

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Don’t Let the Wrong Glass Ruin Your Wine Experience

What is behind the magic of wine? In addition of taste and aroma, the visual aspect is a big factor in creating the magical appeal of wine.

The taste also depends on how you sip your drink and where you sip it from. The shape of wine glasses is an important factor for how your taste buds respond to the drink you are having.

While, the proper shape, size and color of a wine glass can dramatically enhance your wine testing experience, sipping from the wrong glass can kill the spirit as a whole.

The shape of the wine glass rules your perception about the wine. As celebrated wine writer Andrew Jefford likes to put it: “Some of your taste buds detect salty flavors, others bitter ones. The contours of a glass can project liquid to different tongue zones. Champagne flutes send it to the front where sweet and sour tastes tingle. Broad red wine glasses to the back where astringent flavors linger.”

The shape of your wine glass can also affect the aroma of a particular type of wine. If you stuff a small wine glass to the top, the aroma may be too sharp to appreciate; on the other hand, when you fill a tall glass up to half, the aroma has enough places to play around and sends your senses right signal of invitation.

Thus you need to serve different types of wines in different types of glasses to make the best out of them. Specifically designed wine glasses are supposed to bring out the characteristics of specific types of wines. Here are the descriptions of major types of wine glasses that can help you build up your own wine set. If you are truly in love with wine, drink from the glasses that are meant to contain them.

Champagne Wine Glasses are characterized by their tall and slender design with a narrow opening. This particular shape is meant to present the rising bubbles to best advantage and also to prolong the chill as far as possible.

Bordeaux/Cabernet/Merlot glasses come with classical “tulip” shape with narrowing goblet. This particular shape allows swirling on the one hand and helps concentrate the aroma or bouquet on the other hand. For seasoned wine drinkers, the Bordeaux glass can be used to enjoy all types of wines.

Burgundy/Grand Cru/Pinot/Nebbiolo/Syrah/Shiraz are typically served in large format glasses to allow the maximum exposure to air. These large glasses are meant to serve special wines. Those who like their red wine really king size, sip their favorite drink form these glasses. These glasses are also used to serve chardonnay because of the white Burgundy lineage.

Chablis/Chardonnay/Viognier are sipped from a typical smaller version of the tulip, because your white wine doesn’t need much air exposure, but it needs to retain the chill.

Keep a good collection of different types of wine glasses; pour wine to appropriate style of wine glass to impress your wine loving guests.