Italian Wine Glasses

A good wine yearns to be adored for its looks, its bouquet, and its taste and after taste and therefore, holds so much for the eyes, nose, and mouth.  Tasting is not the same as drinking but follow the tips in this post and your enjoyment will be enhanced. The Right Wine Glass for the Right Wine Professor Claus J. Riedel was the first designer to recognize that the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wines are affected by the shape of the glass from which they are drunk. Fifty years ago he began his pioneering work to create stemware that would match and complement different wines and spirits. In the late 1950s, Riedel started to produce glasses which at that time were a design revolution. Working with experienced tasters, Riedel discovered that wine enjoyed from his glasses showed more depth and better balance than when served in other glasses. Claus J. Riedel laid the groundwork for stemware which was functional as well as beautiful, and made according to the Bauhaus design principle: form follows function. The Perfect Wine Glass For Wine Tasting He worked with experienced tasters to determine aspects such as: Which sizes brings the appropriate intensity of aromas for different wines Which shapes direct wines to specific parts of the tongue Which shapes and sizes emphasize fruitiness Which shapes and sizes emphasize tannin Which shapes keep Champagne from going flat The whole approach is not about correcting flaws in certain styles of wines, but of achieving balance in bringing out the distinct characteristics of each style of wine. Today, you don't have to buy expensive Riedel glasses to enjoy wine but appreciating some of the principles discovered by Riedel will help you enjoy your wine drinking more. Choosing the Perfect Glass for Your Favourite Wines: Maxine Ford our Wine Tasting expert give basic tips for choosing the perfect Glass for Your Favourite Wines: "1. The Glass: should be thin and clear - this is to appreciate the beauty of wine. Get glasses that are not coloured or decoratively chiseled. 2. The Stem or Stemless Tumblers? - You should drink from a stem glass due to three  reasons: Helps the enjoyment from seeing the colours of the wine as  you swirl it around) Keeps your hands from warming up the wine Keeps body odours away from the bouquet of wine for those with veru acute sense of smell." Typical Wine Glasses for Reds:  The Bowl: Wide - The bigger flavours in reds need to spread out. The wider bowl also lets in more air, which releases bold aromas and flavours. The Opening: Wider - Dip your nose into the wider bowl to get a load of more complex aromas. Tip: When pouring wines, keep the wine level to the lower one-third of the glass. This leaves lots of air and swirl room, both of which enhance the enjoyment of your wines. Heavy reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, should be served in  a big bowl wine glass with a big opening. Medium reds like Pinot Noir and Merlot should be served with a  big bowl that narrows a tinge at the opening. Wine Glasses for Whites: The Bowl: Narrow - The smaller capacity helps keep temperatures cool longer. The Opening: Narrower -The lighter aromas waft well in a narrower glass.  White wines with high acidity like Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and  Chardonnay should be served wuth a  bowl with a little room that narrows slightly at the opening. Medium bodied white wine like Riesling, Pinot Gris, and  Gewurztiminer should be served witht a narrow bowl and a narrow opening. Tip: If you plan to serve several types of wine but don’t want to shell out the cash for several types of glassware, buy the generic tulip-shaped wine glasses. The Washing of Glasses: I recommend always washing your wine glasses in hot water only. Soap can build up inside the glass and affect a wine’s flavours.

Summary

There is no doubt that the shape of a wine glass can play a part in how your senses perceive the wine. All good wine glasses are narrower at the rim than they are at the bowl (the widest part of the glass). This is so that the escaping aromas, the bouquet of the wine, are concentrated through a smaller area, making it easier to smell them as you taste. Also, glasses should have a wine  bowl that you can easily swirl the wine without spilling it.

Minke Oving our wine tasting expert says

"Since the taste buds that register the different tastes are located in different places on our palate, some of the more intricate wine glass styles are designed to direct the wine to the appropriate part of the mouth for tasting that style.

So, do you really need ten to fifteen different wine glasses to be socially acceptable? No, of course not, but there are four basic shapes featured in this post that are good to have in any serious wine consumer's collection."

About the authors

Maxine Ford is a wine expert from Le Marche Central Italy. She lives with husband Francesco and son Michele.  Minke Oving lives in The Netherlands and is a contributor blog writer on various topice including rare wines from Le Marche.