Professionals know that wine should be drunk from glasses designed specifically for this type of drink. When choosing glasses, I advise you to observe the following rule – the average cost of one glass should be about the same as the price of a bottle of wine that you intend to taste. We will consider the rest of the nuances further.
The taste of a good wine directly depends on the glassware into which it is poured. You can be convinced of this by tasting the same wine from a lemonade glass, a shot glass and a wine glass. The aroma and taste will be very different.
The main factor influencing the choice of wine glasses is the type of drink. Ideally, you need to have nine or ten different sets, but at home you can limit yourself to just two sets for white and red wine.
When buying a glass, you should pay attention to its shape, bowl height and channel rim diameter. The form has not only aesthetic value, it allows you to feel the drink in full and appreciate all its advantages. The diameter of the rim determines how strongly the aroma will be concentrated at the exit from the glass. The smaller the diameter, the higher the aroma concentration will be. The oxygen saturation of the wine depends on the height of the bowl.
Red wine glasses
There are two types: Bordeaux and Burgundy. The most common type is Bordeaux. These glasses can be used daily by pouring any red wines such as Beaujolais, Dolcetto or Sangiovese. The bowl must have a volume of at least 600 ml, otherwise some rich red wines will not fully develop the aroma.
Wine glasses like “Burgundy” are ideal for wines with moderate tannins and high acidity. They are intended for Pinot Noir, Barolo, Barbaresco and others. The volume of Burgundy glasses is usually 700-750 ml, and the shape of the bowl resembles a ball, which is also called a “balloon”. Glasses “Burgundy” are often used by professional tasters, as with their help you can quickly determine the weakness of the wine or its fragile structure, that is, the low quality of the drink.
Glasses for white wine
They resemble the Bordeaux type in shape, but have a smaller volume (up to 350 ml). They allow you to maintain the optimal temperature of the drink. Wine is drunk faster from a small glass, and it does not have time to warm up (the serving temperature of white wines is usually lower than red ones).
Glasses for champagne and other sparkling wines
Classic champagne glasses have an elongated shape called “Flute”. For champagne, a narrow-necked glass with a small indentation at the bottom of its cup is ideal, this makes the bubbles more stable.
How to hold wine glasses
It is correct to hold any glass by the stem and fill only a third with wine, so as not to greatly affect its temperature. The wine can be further oxygenated by rotating the glass slowly. The lightest aromas are always concentrated in the upper part, these are floral and fruity tones. Earthy and vegetal tones are concentrated in the middle part, while the heaviest aromas (wood and leather) are felt near the surface of the tasting wine.
Leave a Reply