A good wine deserves perfect glasses, and while some wine purists swear by high-end crystal glasses, equally refined glass wine glasses have emerged in recent years. These glasses, fine and delicate, have delighted oenophiles around the world, offering a high-quality alternative at a more affordable price.
For these enthusiasts, wine glasses must be aesthetically pleasing but also functional, enhancing the sensory experience of wines that can often be subtle, nuanced, and, in the case of older vintages, fragile and ephemeral.
Using a glass with the right proportions, transparent, made of fine and good quality glass, will help appreciate the wine’s full potential. There’s no need to spend a fortune, but a good wine glass is always a worthwhile investment!
But what is really important for that rare pleasure of tasting a good wine?
The pleasure that wine provides increases when it is enjoyed in the most suitable glass, which highlights its particularities and enhances its qualities. Therefore, its design—size, shape, and stem—is created with a specific type of wine in mind, and that’s why there are different glasses for different wines.
Some characteristics are common to good wine glasses.
Wine shows its best in stemmed glasses, where the bowl is large enough for a generous third of the glass to be filled.
Wine glasses are composed of the base, the stem, and the bowl, which is the “glass” itself.
The glass should be transparent, without engravings or decorations, allowing a pleasant view of the wine’s hues, which, in addition to being captivating, provide clues about the type of grape and the wine’s age.
The bowl should be wider near the stem, narrowing towards the rim to channel the aromas upwards. The complexity and intensity with which we perceive the wine’s aromas vary with the size and configuration of the bowl, which can also influence the perception of flavors as the liquid passes through the mouth.
The stem should be long. We should always hold the glass by the stem, which helps to avoid fingerprints and prevents the wine from being warmed by the heat of the hand, in addition to being much more elegant. The glasses should be lightweight, thin, and, nowadays, dishwasher-safe.
Regarding the design created for each type of wine glass, focusing on the most common ones:
Red Wine
Red wine needs space to breathe, as it has very intense aromas and flavors. Therefore, the glass has a larger bowl, allowing it to release all its power. The shape is also ideal for the wine to “dance.”
There are two common types of red wine glasses: Bordeaux and Burgundy, named after the famous wine regions of France.
Bordeaux: These glasses are designed to hold fuller-bodied wines rich in tannins, mainly made from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. They have a large bowl but are not very rounded, to avoid the dispersion of aromas, concentrating them instead. With their wider top, these glasses make wines smoother and more aromatic, calming strong spices and the acidity of the tannins, and allowing ethanol to evaporate better. Their less rounded bottom allows the aromas to dissipate more quickly, not being as intense on the nose. They are suitable for varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, among others.
Burgundy: Burgundy wines are more complex and delicate, mainly produced from the Pinot Noir grape. The glasses have a larger bowl than Bordeaux glasses, allowing the aromas to develop well and explore the nose extensively. This shape directs the wine flow above the tip and center of the tongue, reducing acidity and enhancing the rounder and riper qualities of the wine. Besides Pinot Noir, these glasses are also ideal for traditional Rioja, Barbera Barricato, Amarone, Nebbiolo wines, among others.
White Wine
In most cases, the aromas of white wines are better distinguished in glasses similar to those for red wines but more slender and with a smaller bowl. These characteristics help preserve the low temperatures at which these wines should be tasted, as there is less heat exchange with the environment. Additionally, these glasses preserve and develop the floral aromas of white wines and highlight the wine’s acidity.
Sparkling Wine
For champagne or sparkling wine, the glasses should be narrow. They should be elegant, thin, so as not to interfere with the tasting, and narrow enough to enjoy all the aromas, acidity, and deep flavors of this wine.
There are many wine glasses on the market at varying prices. But if wine plays an important role in your life, choosing perfect glasses is crucial and may require a compromise between quality and price.
Here you will find perfect glasses for the perfect wine. The new Sophienwald collection to enrich your wine cellar.
