My Glass is Half Full

Sometimes I find I don’t know what to do with my hands when reaching for a glass for my wine. Each wine glass has something special to offer to your senses.

Glasses specifically designed for different wine types help you fully experience the wine.

Wine glasses are shaped to capture the right amount of aromas and direct wine to the part of your mouth where the flavor will be the most fulfilling.

Again, you do whatever you want. There are no wrong answers here. I always prefer to go with tumblers (stemless glasses) because I am known to be clumsy.

Typically, red wine glasses have a larger opening bowl for full-bodied aromas. The more you can fit your face into the glass, the better. Sweet and crisp white wines are also better in a glass with a large opening so your sweet liquid will direct itself to the area of the tongue that detects sweetness.

White wine glasses are generally more U shaped. This way the temperature can stay cooler for longer and the aromas are released. When you are drinking white, you should hold the glass by the stem so you don’t warm your wine.

Sparkling wine glasses use a flute to hold the carbonation and keep the flavour.

Dessert wines are served in small wine glasses. The intention is that the wine will hit the back of the mouth so the drinker isn’t overwhelmed by the extreme sweetness or the higher alcohol content.

Tips on glassware:

The thinner the rim the better

(Bad news for me, these are way less durable)

I could go much deeper into this, but these three are the most common types of glass. The staples to have on hand are: stemless with a large opening, a U shaped classic glass with a stem, and flutes for the sparkling wines and Champagnes. Unless you are a sommelier, you wont notice a difference between.

Shout out to Peter from Red Top!

(If you haven’t been there then you are seriously missing out)

After incessant teasing about his wine glasses for ants, he finally has invested in larger glasses. Go try them, oh yeah and the food.