Choosing the proper wine glasses involves six points of consideration:size, shape, design, weight, material and aesthetics. The size of the glass is determined by by what variety of wine you intend to consume from it. In general red wine glasses are of a larger size than white wine glasses, and those intended for the best wines are larger than the ones utilized for everyday wines.
In my own case, I use a 17 oz.(480 ml.) capacity glass for ordinary red wines, and a 12 2/3 oz. (360 ml.) one for whites. As for Bordeaux, and similarly tannic, full-bodied, top notch reds, I use a 23 oz. (650 ml.) glass which was created with Bordeaux specifically in mind. I of course don’t fill my Bordeaux, or any other wine glass, to the brim. For one thing, considering that a regular wine bottle only holds 750 ml. of wine, there wouldn’t be a lot left for anybody else to have if I did, and for yet anotherreason, each the large size of the glass and the fact that it’s widest at its halfway point enable the wine to “breathe” by affording a broad surface area of wine to be in contact with the air in order to encourage oxidation. Oxidation helps to soften the tannins of a powerful red which might otherwise be overly harsh, and lets you experience to a greater extent the complexity and variety of flavors present in a noble red.
White wine, on the other hand, has far fewer tannins, and normally doesn’t benefit from oxidation. A smaller glass is also beneficial for whites because they are served at cooler temperatures. Obviously, it normally requires more time to drink a greater amount of wine, and you would want to drink up every glass of white wine before it has a has a opportunity to get overly warm. One white wine that is an exception to these guidelines is the best white Burgundy, like Chablis or Montrachet. These top quality whites do benefit from oxidation, and should be served at the temperature of standard red wines, from 55 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the quality level, I commonly serve white Burgundy, and other top-notch Chardonnays, in 14 4/5 oz. (420 ml.) glasses or my 17 oz. red wine glasses.
The largest capacity glasses are generally reserved for fine Burgundy. I use 26 1/2 oz. (750 ml.) glasses, but I’ve seen Burgundy glasses as big as 31 3/4 oz. (900 ml). But the subject of Burgundy glasses actually brings us more into the realm of shape than size. Burgundy is a somewhat delicate and highly fragrant red. similar to Bordeaux, Burgundy is generally drunk from glasses created for it specifically Burgundy glasses are balloon shaped: really broad in the center, but tapering up to a somewhat narrow mouth. The broad middle creates ample surface area for the fragrance to waft up from, whilst the narrow top retains the wonderful Burgundy bouquet in the glass, stopping it from dissipating so that you can fully enjoy it.
A different type of uniquely shaped wine glass is the champagne flute. These champagne glasses have slim, tall bowls to decrease the chance of their bubbles dissipating too quickly. Tulip shaped Champagne flutes are superior to straight-sided or trumpet-shaped versions simply because, like the great majority of wine glasses, the narrower mouth serves to concentrate the bouquet inside the glass. Talking about shape in general, I like diamond-shaped glasses. They are nice looking, and a benefit of the diamond design is that it’s easy to see where the widest point of the glass is, which is also the point to which it ought to be filled.
As for design, conventional, long-stemmed glasses are undoubtedly preferable to stemless glasses. The stem serves several important functions. First, by suspending the bowl up off the table, it lets you see the color of the wine. Second, it makes it less difficult to swirl the wine in the glass to aerate it and get an idea about the degree of body the wine has as it drips back down the sides of the glass. Third, it’s a handy handle that stops your hand heating up the wine, and your fingers smudging up the glass.
Weight and balance are also important considerations simply because you want a glass that feels good to hold. This is obviously subjective, but I personally don’t like heavy wine glasses, so I prefer ones made of thin glass. A thin rim is also more pleasant to drink from. There is a disadvantage to thin glass however, which can result in inconvenience and added cost: it chips and breaks easily. A way to avoid this difficulty is to buy glasses reinforced with titanium instead of lead. Titanium wine glasses are not only far more durable than their leaded counterparts, they are also lighter in weight and maintain their clarity far better.
As for material, you undoubtedly should go with fine Austrian or German crystal. Which’s truly not as costly as it sounds. You can get beautiful, classy, machine-made crystal from famous producers at sensible prices, especially if you shop around on the Internet. Of course, their top of the line hand blown glasses tend to be quite pricey, but it’s not necessary to break the bank considering that you can get very nice glasses for significantly less, including the titanium type.
Which brings us finally to aesthetics, the most subjective topic of all. It’s an important one though simply because, in the end, the complete purpose of nice wine glasses is to act as an elegant foil for whichever wine you are pouring, so aesthetics is just as big a thing to consider as functionality. Essentially, I’d say decide how much you would like to shell out for wine glasses and get the ones which you feel are the best amongst those that fall inside of your budget.
It’s possible to buy a distinct size and shape of glass for every well-known kind of wine, but that’s overkill, in my humble opinion. I can’t see any reason to buy a unique glass for Syrah, for example. If you’re drinking a top-notch Syrah, like a Hermitage or Penfolds Grange, it’s best to serve it in a Bordeaux glass. If it’s a more everyday version of this trendy varietal, you can simply use everyday red wine glasses. The same goes for other powerful, full-bodied reds. In the case of a high quality Pinot Noir, you should use Burgundy glasses because Burgundy itself is made with Pinot Noir grapes. If it’s a more everyday Pinot Noir, regular red wine glasses are a better alternative simply because the high-capacity Burgundy glasses will just make the wine’s ordinariness a lot more noticeable.
In my opinion, a full set of wine glasses should include regular red wine glasses (which can additionally be utilized as water goblets), Bordeaux glasses, Burgundy glasses, white wine glasses, (for Chablis and other top-rate white Burgundies, you can use red wine or Bordeaux glasses), and champagne glasses. You may want to add a few specialty glasses to that list if you happen to be a Brandy drinker or make a habit of serving dessert wines, but otherwise, you ought to be prepared for any contingency with these five sorts of wine glasses.
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