It
is very refreshing to see that restaurants are more and more
using good wine glasses instead of very bad one. And why is
that important? It is important because a good glass will
make your wine drinking experience a different and far better
one with a good glass than not. And here is why:
 The
shape first!
A good glass is the one which has a tulip shape with the lip
of the glass being tighter that the base of the glass (as
pictured on the left end side). This allows the aromas to
concentrate towards the top. Now if you don’t believe
me, try the following experience at home: use 2 glasses, one
like the one pictured with a tulip shape and another one being
a water tumbler glass. Pour just one fifth of the volume of
each glass with your favourite wine. Swirl the wine (better
contact with air will release more aromas) and then sniff
in each glass. What is the difference?
Which glass displays more intensity in terms of the aromas,
of what the wine actually smells?
Unless you have a cold, there should be a massive difference
between the 2 glasses with the tulip shaped providing far
more aromatic intensity than the tumbler.
Style
is second
Style is what comes next. You will prefer some brands to others
which have different designs and at the same time respect
the good shape. The following brands have great designs and
perfect shapes: Riedel, Spiegelau, Schott Swiesel. And these
brands will also go the extra mile of providing a different
shape for each different grape variety or style of wine because
of the intensity each wine is meant to produce. For instance
Pinot Noir wines are meant to be less concentrated and less
powerful in terms of their aromas than Cabernet Sauvignon
or Shiraz. So the angle between the lip and base should be
greater to help with providing more concentration of aromas.
But away from
style, shape is the most important thing. And unlike food
where the shape of the plate will make no difference whatsoever
to the taste of the food, the glass will make the sniffing
stage a completely different one. And so request good glasses
next time you are eating out!
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