Wine
Glasses - Do
They Matter?
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Wine
glasses have been used since
ancient times.
Pliny
(23–79 A.D.) wrote about
gold and silver drinking vessels
being abandoned in favor of
glass, and they were frequently
priced as high as the precious
metal versions. Bonifacio
Veronese’s sixteenth-century
‘Last Supper’
includes modern style wine
glasses with a stem and foot.
The
oldest surviving European
wine glasses with a stem and
foot are fifteenth-century
enameled goblets (a goblet
is a glass holding more than
four ounces of liquid).
Near
the end of the sixteenth-century
in Germany sophisticated engraved
decoration was applied to
covered wine glasses.
The
earliest surviving English
wine glasses are diamond-engraved
glasses that were produced
near the end of the sixteenth-century
by Verzelini. Plain straight
stems gained popularity around
1740, with air twist stems
being introduced about the
same time. Ten years later
a twist incised on the exterior
of the stem became popular.
Quality
crystal wine glasses were
being produced in France near
the end of the eighteenth-century.
Cordial
glasses in the eighteenth-century
had bowls of the same shapes
that were typical for wine
glasses, but they were much
smaller, holding about one
ounce.
Toast
masters glasses were made
with a thicker bottom and
walls so that they would hold
less. A toast master had to
drain every glass and still
be able to remain standing
till all toasts
were completed.
Wine
glasses during the nineteenth-century
were often produced in sets
— with a dozen each
of port and sherry, burgundy
and claret, champagne glasses
and liqueur glasses.
More
recently, in the 1950s, Riedel
Crystal and other stemware
manufacturers have refined
wine glass design to the point
of having a unique size and
shape for almost every wine
variation.
Wine
glasses are made for drinking
wine, of course, but people
are creative and have found
other uses ranging from combining
several wine glasses to construct
a glass
harp to using stemware
in a similar manner to provide
sound education.
Some of the research for this
article on the history of
wine glasses came from the
following books which are
recommend reading if you'd
like to learn more:
Glass
and Glassware, by George Savage
© 1973 Octopus Books
Limited
In Celebration of Wine and
Life, by Richard Lamb &
Ernest G. Mittelberger 1974
Discovering Wine, by Joanna
Simon © 1994 Mitchell
Beazley Publishers
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Choosing
Wine Glasses
Picking
the right wine glasses for
the right wine isn't easy
when confronted with the bevy
of wine glasses on store shelves.
And trying to keep those crystal
clear glasses crystal clear
can be a maddening experience,
too. Master the art of wine
glasses here.
There
really is no right or wrong
glass for wine tasting
— or for drinking wine
for that matter. However,
there are some glasses that
are better than others for
evaluating wines. First of
all, we like to suggest using
glasses that you are comfortable
using. Aesthetics aside, there
are really only two things
to remember when considering
a wine tasting glass: the
size of the glass and the
overall shape of the glass.
The
more universally used tasting
glass is called a chimney
shape. Broader on the bottom
of the bowl, it tapers upward
to a smaller opening. The
broader bottom will enable
you to hold enough wine and
give you plenty of room to
swirl the wine, while the
smaller opening at the top
will help to trap and focus
the aromas, allowing you enough
of a scent to assess the wine.
Size
Doesn't Matter
For
the most part, if your glass
is of this shape, the actual
size of the glass is not important
other than it needs to be
big enough and have a big
enough opening for you to
be able to get your nose inside
to really smell the wine.
Some people swear by large
"Burgundy" style
glasses that allow as much
of the wine to come in contact
with the air as possible,
therefore releasing as many
of the aromas and flavors
as possible. Others like the
convenience and ease of use
of a smaller glass. Other
considerations that will enhance
your tasting experience include
glassware that is clear (no
colors) and free of cuts or
engravings within the glass.
Many
glass manufacturers have designed
specific glasses for specific
wine types or varietals, taking
in to account different aspects
of the individual wine type.
While this is wonderful, it
is not a necessary purchase
for a complete wine tasting.
The top producer of these
specialized wine glasses is
an Austrian crystal company
named Riedel (pronounced REE-dle).
They are exquisite and expensive.
Cleaning
Wine Glasses
When
it comes time to clean your
glassware, try to avoid using
soap. Instead use hot water
and rinse thoroughly. Soap
can become trapped within
the glass release soapy odors
the next time you use it.
Although you may become quite
proficient at identifying
various brands of dish soap,
this ability and the soapy
glasses that taught you will
not add to the enjoyment of
a good glass of wine.
To
summarize, it's important
that you find good glassware
for your wine tasting experiences,
but "good" does
not necessarily mean "expensive."
Find glassware that you are
comfortable with and adequately
serves its purpose: presenting
wine for your evaluation and
enjoyment.
Article
© 2002-2006, Wine
Tasting
Purchase
Beautiful Well-Priced Wine
Glasses
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