Have you ever wondered why there’s such a large variety of shapes and sizes among crystal wine glasses? Does it really matter what you drink your wine out of? It turns out there’s a reason why you’d never see a sommelier drinking out of the bottle. Details like the size, shape, and even color of your wine glass can have a huge impact on your wine drinking experience. If you’re planning a dinner party or are just interested in buying a set of wine glasses, knowing the correct usage of each glass is vital.
Before we get too far, let’s talk about quality. An inexpensive wine glass is most likely made out of cut or fused glass. While these glasses will certainly do the job of holding your drink, sometimes the glass can interfere with the wine’s flavor. A blown wine glass can fix this problem, but to truly get the most out of your wine a crystal wine glass is key.
The composition of a crystal wine glass allows the wine to breathe when you swirl it, creating a more interesting and pleasing bouquet. These glasses are a treat for the eye as well as the nose. As light passes through a crystal wine glass it refracts differently than its lower quality cousins, giving the wine a more appealing look.
With such an array of wine glass shapes and sizes, how do you know which ones you need? The first thing to consider when choosing a glass is what kind of look you’re going for. A feature that is common to most wine glasses is a stem. It’s a common misconception that a wine glass has a stem in order to prevent body heat from affecting the wine. In fact, a wine glass’s stem is there simply to prevent finger prints from detracting from the wine’s appearance. If you’re interested in a more casual feel to your crystal wine glass collection, you might want to consider a stemless glass, or tumbler. For a more elegant approach the tradition stemmed glass would be most fitting.
Next you will want to consider what kind of wine you’ll be serving. Most crystal wine glasses can be divided into three categories: glasses for red wine, white wine, and champagne. The details of what type of glass is used for each are as follows:
- Red Wine Glasses: Glasses for red wine are generally shorter and wider than their white wine counterparts. The roundness of these glasses gives the wine more surface area available for oxidization. This introduction of oxygen to the wine alters its taste and aroma slightly. Red wines take to this subtle shift the best.
- White Wine Glasses: Glasses for white wine vary in shape more than red wine glasses, but in general they are bit taller and less round. This lessens the wine’s ability to oxidize, keeping its flavor cleaner.
- Champagne Flutes: Champagne flutes are easily distinguishable by their long stems and narrow bowls. The narrowness of the bowl helps keep the drink carbonated as well as adds to its look by giving the bubbles further to travel.Â
Whatever your plans are, knowing which crystal wine glasses to use will greatly enhance your wine drinking experience. Wine is best experienced with all the senses. A well chosen crystal wine glass will make sure you get the most out of your wine.
