Does The Glass Really Matter?

Stemware for red wine/chart by Riedel

I get this question all the time.  It’s usually asked in a way that implies the answer:  “The type of glass you use doesn’t really matter, does it?”  Although I love wine, I do not like to sound pretentious.  And I do think that a lot of us wine lovers get carried away with minutiae.  But I can definitely say that the type of glass really does matter.

So you’re not sure you believe me?  Let me start with an analogy.  My brother-in-law swears that the taste and enjoyment of food does not change based upon the temperature.  I strongly disagree, and I would bet that a lot of you would agree.  Cold mashed potatoes are so shocking to the mouth that you can’t enjoy the subtle butter flavor.  Melted ice cream lacks the viscous mouthfeel that makes it so satisfying.  So it is with wine glasses.  The correct glass, like the correct temperature, can have a profound effect on the enjoyment of the wine.

Stemware for white wine/chart by Riedel

Why is this?  Most experts agree that it’s because of the way the shape of the glass directs the aromas of the wine to your nose.  Most of us have heard that a large part of our ability to taste is tied up with our sense of smell.  It makes sense, then, that the way the aromas are directed toward your nose might affect how you smell, which in turn is likely to affect how you taste.  Those who make a living out of creating new and different glasses, such as the crystal company Riedel, even argue that the shape of the glass affects where on your tongue the wine lands, which therefore affects how you taste.  I cannot argue with this because I do vaguely remember learning in high school that we taste different components of food on different parts of our tongues.  However, I must admit that the idea still sounds a little far-fetched, so I’m sticking with the smell explanation.

No matter the reason, I firmly believe that the shape of the glass matters.  I recently attended a wine dinner featuring one of the best winemakers in Oregon, Bill Hatcher of Rex Hill Vineyards & Winery, A to Z Wineworks and Hatcher Wineworks.  At that dinner, he told us about the new Riedel Oregon pinot noir glasses. Hatcher said he was skeptical that a glass could make that much difference until he tasted his own wine in a traditional glass and the new glass formulated specially for Oregon pinot noir.  He found the difference startling.

Intrigued, I decided I had to ask for one of the new glasses for Christmas.  Since then, I’ve enthusiastically “encouraged” virtually every friend or family member who stops by to do the taste test.  Although not all preferred the Oregon pinot noir glass (there was one holdout), all agreed there was a significant difference in the taste of the same wine consumed from different shaped glasses.

So let’s say you’re still with me and haven’t yet concluded that I’m a crazy wine snob.  You want to believe me, but you also don’t want and can’t afford a cabinet full of 10 different types of wine glasses.  What can you do?  I recommend a few guidelines to help you maximize your enjoyment of wine while minimizing the expense and hassle of owning numerous types of glasses.

●Use a small, glass with a long stem for white wine.  White wine generally tastes better if it is cooler.  Thus, with a smaller glass, your wine won’t have time to get warm before you finish it.  And with the longer stem, you can hold the glass without warming the bowl with your hand.

●Use a tulip-shaped glass (wider at the bottom and narrower on top) with a large bowl (perhaps 8-12 ounce capacity) for red wines.  The aromas of red wines are best enjoyed if you can swirl.  Thus, only fill the glass about one-third full so that you have plenty of room to swirl.  The tulip shape will then focus all those aromas for you when you take a giant sniff.

●No matter what wine you’re drinking, use clear crystal or glass stemware.  Although colored or etched glass and crystal are beautiful, they prevent you from seeing the color of the wine (or whether there is any sediment in your wine that you need to allow to settle).

●For sparkling wines, including Champagne, use a flute shaped glass (tall and skinny) and not a flat, bowl-shaped glass (like a margarita glass).  Much of the enjoyment of champagne comes from the bubbles.  It also tastes better when chilled. In the bowl-shaped glass, the bubbles dissipate rapidly and the wine warms up too fast.  If you can’t afford to have champagne glasses for the few times a year that you drink Champagne, then use the skinniest juice glasses you have, pour just a little bit at a time and try not to hold the glass in between sips.

● If you can only afford one set of quality wine glasses, go for the large, tulip-shaped glasses to augment your wine experience with reds and stick to drinking whites and Champagne out of juice glasses.  Because white wine is more forgiving than red, the shape of the glass matters less. The glass does affect the wine experience in the end, but don’t make more of the choice of glass than this decision deserves: in the end, the finest glassware won’t compensate for a bad wine!