Stemless Martini Glasses

A wine glass is a type of glass stemware which is used to drink and taste wine. It is generally composed of three parts: the bowl, stem, and foot. Selection of a particular wine glass for a wine style is important, as the glass shape can influence its perception.

Proper Use

The proper way to drink from the wine glass, especially when drinking white or otherwise chilled wine, is to grasp it by the stem and drink. The purpose of this is so the temperature of the wine is not affected by body heat when holding the glass. This is achieved because the stem is not in direct contact with the wine. Also, holding the glass by the bowl will leave fingerprints, which can distort the visual appearance of the wine when examining the clarity and colour of the wine. Last but not least, the proper sound when clinking glasses requires them to be held by the stem.

Materials

Wine glasses made of fused or cut glass will often interfere with the flavor of the wine, as well as creating a rough, thick lip, from which it is not as pleasurable to drink. Blown glass results in a better vessel, with a thinner lip, and is usually acceptable for casual wine drinkers. High quality wine glasses are often made of lead crystal. Lead crystal glasses' advantages are primarily aesthetic, having a higher index of refraction, thus changing the effect of light passing through them. They are also heavier. Using lead in the crystal matrix also offers several advantages in the material's workability during production. Wine glasses are generally not colored or frosted as this would impede the appreciation of its colour. An exception to this rule is the hock glass.

Shapes

The shape of the glass is also important, as it concentrates the flavor and aroma (or bouquet) to emphasize the varietal's characteristic. One common belief is that the shape of the glass directs the wine itself into the best area of the mouth from the varietal.

Generally, the opening of the glass is not wider than the widest part of the bowl.

The stem of a glass provides a way to hold the glass without warming the wine from body heat. Visually, a stem prevents fingerprints from smearing the glass. A new trend in wine glasses is the "stemless" wine glass which comes in a variety of sizes and shapes as well. These glasses are typically used more casually than their traditional counterparts, as they negate the benefits of using stemmed wine glasses.

Except to the wine connoisseur, wine glasses can be divided into three types: red wine glasses, white wine glasses, and champagne flutes.

Red wine glasses

Glasses for red wine are characterized by their rounder, wider bowl, which increases the rate of oxidization. As oxygen from the air chemically interacts with the wine, flavor and aroma are subtly altered. This process of oxidization is generally more compatible with red wines, whose complex flavors are smoothed out after being exposed to air. Red wine glasses can have particular styles of their own, such as

• Bordeaux glass : tall with a broad bowl, and is designed for full bodied red wines like Cabernet and Merlot as it directs wine to the back of the mouth.
• Burgundy glass : broader than the Bordeaux glass, it has a bigger bowl to accumulate aromas of more delicate red wines such as Pinot Noir. This style of glass directs wine to the tip of the tongue.

White wine glasses

White wine glasses vary enormously in size and shape, from the delicately tapered Champagne flute, to the wide and shallow glasses used to drink Chardonnay. Different shaped glasses are used to accentuate the unique characteristics of different styles of wine. Wide mouthed glasses function similarly to red wine glasses discussed above, promoting rapid oxidization which alters the flavor of the wine. White wines which are best served slightly oxidized are generally full flavored wines, such as oaked chardonnay. For lighter, fresher styles of white wine, oxidization is less desirable as it is seen to mask the delicate nuances of the wine. To preserve a crisp, clean flavor, many white wine glasses will have a smaller mouth, which reduces surface area and in turn, the rate of oxidization. In the case of sparkling wine, such as Champagne or Asti Spumante, an even smaller mouth is used to keep the wine sparkling longer in the glass.

Champagne flutes

Main article: Champagne stemware

Champagne flutes are characterised by a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top. The shape is designed to keep sparkling wine desirable during its consumption. The glass is designed to be held by the stem to help prevent the heat from the hand from warming the champagne. The bowl itself is designed in a manner to help retain the signature carbonation in the beverage. This is achieved by reducing the surface area at the opening of the bowl. Additionally the flute design adds to the aesthetic appeal of champagne, allowing the bubbles to travel further due to the narrow design, giving a far more pleasant visual appeal.

Sherry glass

A sherry glass is drinkware generally used for serving aromatic alcoholic beverages, such as sherry, port, aperitifs, and liqueurs, and layered shooters. An ISO-standard sized sherry glass is 120 millilitres (4.2 imp fl oz; 4.1 US fl oz). The copita , with its aroma-enhancing narrow taper, is a type of sherry glass.

Decoration

In the 18th Century, glassmakers would draw spiral patterns in the stem as they made the glass. If they used air bubbles it was called an airtwist; if they used threads, either white or colored, it would be called opaque twist.

ISO Winetasting glass

The ISO has standardized a series of glasses for wine tasting. They are stemmed with elongated tapered bowls, with capacities of 120 (for sherry), 210, 300, or 410 millilitres.ISO 3591:1977

See also

• Wine
• Wine tasting
• Wine accessory
• Glass harp

References

1. ^ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Michael Clarke. Oxford University Press, 2001.
2. ^ "wine glasses" . http://sizes.com/food/glasses_wine.htm .  

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