The holidays are upon us, and that means we’ll be celebrating with friends and family. But is there a better way to celebrate than with a glass of wine? Naturally, what better way to show off to your friends than to grab a set of the RIGHT wine glass shapes.
If that’s something that interests you, then make sure to read below as we will give you our 5 tips for choosing the right wine glass shapes.
With all that said, let’s start.
Contents
Whatever the Shape, Oxygen is Important
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First off, we should talk a bit about oxygen. As you all know whenever you pour something into a glass, it releases an aroma. This actually happens because the liquid releases vapors and we can effectively smell them.
In the case of wine, it is ethanol that vaporizes once we pour it into a glass. And the reason why it vaporizes is that it gets in contact with oxygen. There is a well-known phrase among wine lovers; a phrase called “Opening Up” or “Letting it Breathe”.
To effectively open it up, you need sufficient amounts of oxygen to get in contact with the liquid. And that is highly important as different glass shapes have different amounts of oxygen that the liquid can interact with.
This is the basis of our article. We will formulate our tips around it so let’s start.
1. Choose the Shape Based on the Type of Wine
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Wine isn’t a new thing. Quite the contrary, the liquid has existed as long as civilizations have. The ancient Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, all drank it every day.
You could say that it was the be-all and end-all of being a Roman or Greek. They also called wine “the nectar of the gods”, and for good reasons.
Because of that, ancient civilizations came up with all sorts of glass shapes to make their wine-drinking activities more interesting and fun.
And that’s precisely why it’s so hard to choose the right shape. But we can safely assume that there are hundreds of types and styles of wine. And for each and every one of those, there is a glass.
While we won’t get into all the types and styles, we will mention the most important ones.
2. Narrow For White
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When we think about white wine, we have to think about the right glass shape. And generations before us have done so the same. They’ve done the calculations and math, physics, and science, and these people came to the conclusion that white wine is best served in a light-bodied glass.
The reasoning behind it is that we’re meant to drink from a smaller bowl that has a smaller opening. The science as to why this is the case is all down to the aromatic taste we get from white wine. Drinking from a smaller opening gives you the best chance to sample the pureness of white wine.
If you’re looking for the right white wine shape or any other shape of glass for that matter, then make sure to visit selterglas.
3. Wide For Red
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There is a simple rule that can help you determine the right glass shape when drinking reds. Reds are completely opposite and different from their white counterpart.
Although some suggest red goes well with any shape, we beg to differ. Red wine is very much different than white because we are meant to sample all the rich fruits and velvet mouthfeel whenever drinking reds.
And what better way to sample reds than through a wider opening; just enough for you to be able to do that. And don’t think that the oxygen rule doesn’t play an important role here.
You’ve probably seen in movies or series that people love to swirl red wines. To swirl, you need a bigger and wider glass so enough oxygen gets in contact with the liquid.
This is why there a rule to drinking reds. Once you pour it into the glass, you take a sip and let it breathe for 10 minutes. We promise the next sip will be like drinking straight from heaven.
4. Tall And Narrow For Sparkling
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Sparkling wine is very much different than the two other types; even if those types are different from one another. The main difference between whites, reds, and sparkling’s is the fact that sparkling types aren’t meant to be exposed to oxygen.
Simply said, this type loses its properties when exposed to oxygen. Although this doesn’t happen instantly, the less oxygen the liquid gets in contact with the better.
This is why you’re meant to drink sparkling wine from a glass that has the narrowest opening. A narrower opening also means that you’ll pour less liquid. Well, to compensate for that, the glass also has to be taller; much taller than the likes of red and white wine glasses.
These glasses mostly resemble champagne glasses as champagne also loses its properties when exposed to oxygen. So, you can go by that simple rule whenever buying the perfect glass shape.
5. The Way You Hold Is Also Important
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To wrap out our shape guide, we have to talk about a very important thing called a stem.
The stem is essentially the part of the glass that connects the base and the bowl. But not every piece has a stem. Why is that?
Well, it’s safe to say that our own temperature can translate onto the wine whenever we’re holding it. This is only the case if you hold the glass by the bowl when drinking.
And that can heat up the wine inside, which is not ideal.
So, a lot of people prefer to drink their wine through a stem glass. The only difference between any type of glass shape and one that comes with a stem is the stem itself. Everything else stays the same including the bowl shape.
So, if you don’t want to heat up your wine by holding the glass on the bowl, consider getting yourself a stem type of glass.
