The Importance of the Right Glassware for Wine

The right glassware is an integral part of the wine appreciation. t’s true that you can get wine in cans or cardboard cartons and perhaps there may come a time when we drink wine through straws.  Hopefully that day is a very long way off, because that would ruin many excellent wines and put the corkscrew manufacturers out of business!

Good glassware (not necessarily expensive glasses)   is central to the enjoyment of a good wine.In fact, very expensive glassware is often not a sensible choice as they tend to have long stems and a high centre of gravity.A glass filled with wine is inherently unstable and there can’t be anyone who hasn’t tipped over the occasional glass during a conversation or meal.Wine glasses will break and there’s nothing you can do about that, aside from buying glasses that are fairly sturdy and reasonably priced.

A good wine glass is basically quite simple – essentially it should really be made of glass. It should be perfectly clear with no tints or opaque colours because apart from just holding the wine, decent glassware should also display it. The true deep colour of a wine can be a beautiful sight in a clear, clean glass just as a range of bottles can be impressive in a well constructed wine rack.A good wine glass should also enhance, or at least preserve, the wine’s bouquet. Good wine glasses are narrower at the top than at the bottom to concentrate the aromas of the wine. Experienced wine drinkers swirl the wine in the glass before taking a sip to release more of its bouquet.

So if you plan to buy wine-related gifts this Christmas, any decent (not hugely expensive) glasses will do the trick. The only truly unacceptable wine glass is the one most associated with the high life in popular culture and the cinema – the saucer-like champagne glass – guaranteed to make the wine go flat in record time. It is perfect for a shrimp cocktail starter, but otherwise for champagne and sparkling wines use a flute.