Selecting The Best Wine Glass

Selecting the right wine glass can make all the difference in the wine-tasting experience, as different glasses can influence the wine’s aromas, flavors, and overall enjoyment. Because of this, wine connoisseurs choose their wine glasses carefully based on shape, size and more. Here is a guide on how to choose the best wine glass:

Does wine glass shape affect taste?

A wine glass’s shape and size play a crucial role in how the wine tastes, but their importance is not immediately obvious unless you’re well-versed in food chemistry.

For example, most people are unaware that a wine’s optimal temperature is lower than a human’s body temperature. Hence, one can accidentally ruin a wine’s taste by holding a wine glass by the bowl instead of the stem, as your hand will heat the wine past its optimal temperature.

Every part of a wine glass is designed to enhance the drinking experience, whether a red or white wine. Therefore it is essential to understand the different parts of a wine glass–the rim, bowl, stem and foot.

Which glass is ideal for wine tasting?

Which wine glass you should use depends on the type of wine you’re drinking (red/white). For example, higher-quality wines require different glasses for specific varieties of red and white wines. Ideally, a good wine glass should feel light and have a thin rim, as it helps the wine flow more smoothly into your mouth. However, thin glasses are also very fragile, meaning that you’ll have to choose between durability and quality. Luckily, some high-end wine glass manufacturers have begun producing titanium crystal glasses, giving you the best of both worlds. 

What are the qualities of a good wine glass?

Apart from a thin rim, the definition of a good wine glass varies depending on the type (red/white) and variety of the wine you’re drinking. Generally, a good wine glass should:

• Enable better aeration: Swirling your red wine in a big glass doesn’t just make you look cool. It also enables more oxygen to mix with the wine and improve its taste.  
• Concentrate aromas: White wines have delicate aromas that are dissipated into the air quickly, so they need to be focused with a narrow rim.
• Maintain carbonation: Champagne and sparkling wine lose their sparkle the moment you open the bottle, so fluted glasses help keep them bubbly and chilled.
• Be comfortable to hold: Since wine is meant to be sipped, the glass is designed to be held continuously.

Types of Wine Glasses

Keeping track of which wine glass for which wine we should use can be tricky. 

Types of red wine glasses include: 

• Burgundy: This glass features a wide bowl with a flared rim that brings the fruity aromas of delicate red wines to the palate area of your tongue. 
• Pinot Noir: This type of glass is almost identical to Burgundy glasses except for the flared rim, which is why some wine glass experts group them together. Pinot Noir glasses also have a wide bowl that helps aerate red wine without spilling any by accident.
• Bordeaux: The largest wine glass type available (but not the widest), Bordeaux glasses have a tall bowl that allows you to aerate the wine better, softening its bitter tannins as they mix with it oxygen in the air.

Similarly, there are three common glasses for drinking white wine :

Types of white wine glasses:

• Cabernet Sauvignon: Like Bordeaux glasses, Cabernet glasses have a wide bowl for efficient aeration and a narrow rim to concentrate the wine’s aromas.
• Sauvignon Blanc: Also known as the White Bordeaux, this wine glass has a tall bowl that allows a complex white wine’s aromas to dissipate more quickly, allowing you to fully appreciate its flavors.
• Chardonnay: This glass has a wider rim that guides white wine to the tip of your tongue, which helps you taste its sweetness better. It also pairs well with other full-bodied wines, such as a Viognier.

Dessert wine connoisseurs are recommended to invest in the following glasses:

Dessert wine glasses:

• Port: This type is much smaller than regular wine glasses but retains the narrow rim that concentrates a wine’s aroma. When filling port wine glasses, pouring halfway or less is recommended.
• Sherry: Its narrow rim prevents ethanol from evaporating, especially for wines with high alcohol content. Its design also directs the sweet sherry to the back of your mouth to avoid overwhelming your palate.
  

  

For those who enjoy sparkling wines like Prosecco, here are three types of wine glasses to choose from:

Sparkling wines glasses:

• Vintage: Known for its popularity during the 1920s. What vintage glasses lack in practicality (its broad bowl allows wine aromas to dissipate quickly), it more than makes up for in elaborate aesthetics that go well with elegant occasions, such as colored stems and intricate glass designs.
  

  

• Tulip: Named after its resemblance to the flower, a tulip glass features a narrow top to trap carbonation for sparkling wines and a bowl that widens in the middle to make room for complex flavours.
  

  

• Flute: The recommended choice for champagne and sparkling wines. With a long narrow bowl and a bead at the base, carbonation will last longer even as it rises to the top, enhancing both your visual and gastronomical experience.

For beginner wine glass collectors, a Cabernet Sauvignon glass for red wines, a Chardonnay for white wines and a champagne flute are all good places to start. On the other hand, casual wine enthusiasts may find the universal wine glass a huge time-saver, as its size falls between a small red wine glass and a Chardonnay glass. Pairing variety-specific wine glasses with your wines is still the best way to go, especially if you’ve invested in higher-quality wines.

Why do we have different glasses for different types of wine?

Each variety of wine has its own characteristics, which are so diverse that a one-size-fits-all glass cannot possibly accommodate them all. For example, the sherry glass has a smaller bowl highlighting the complex, fruity aromas of fortified wines, while champagne requires a narrow glass to trap carbonation for extended periods. That’s why you’ll find various types of wine glasses that vary not just in bowl size but also in height and rim width. 

Recommended Wine Glasses

When selecting a wine glass, the abundance of different brands may make you spoiled for choice. Some of the best wine glasses include the Riedel Degustazione champagne flutes, Rome Bordeaux wine glass and Spigelau Vino Grande glasses for both port and sherry.

Importance of holding a wine glass properly

You’ve selected the best wine glass and poured your wine into it. The next step is properly holding your wine glass. The correct grip will prevent your wine from warming up too quickly and help adhere to rules concerning wine-drinking etiquette. Learn more about holding wine glasses the right way here.

Conclusion

To recap, many types of wine glasses have designs tailored to specific varieties, such as Bordeaux, Chardonnay and sherry glasses. It is because every kind of their wine has unique characteristics in terms of aroma, tannin content and carbonation. Therefore, try different wine glasses to make the best of your wine-tasting experience. 

Whisky.my has a wide selection of wine glasses for you to choose from. Start your own collection with our affordable glasses today!