How to choose the best wine glass

A guest post by our great team member, Dana!

With so many options for wine glasses, choosing the right wine glass can be a bit of a daunting task. Many visitors to the Kalasi Cellars tasting room ask about our glass choice, the material it is made from, the rim, the shape, the stem and the size of the bowl. At Kalasi Cellars we present our 100% estate-grown, Texas wines in Riedel glasses that are of a universal shape and size. What impact does the glassware have on your wine tasting experience you ask? Let me try to explain.

Crystal instead of glass, yes! Crystal glassware is made using a blend of higher quality materials than glass and crystal’s composition allows wine to be observed with incredible clarity and brilliance. This clarity allows the beauty of the wine to be seen on full display thus making our visual experience of wine more enchanting. After all, this is where we begin the wine tasting experience, seeing the wine. Beyond seeing the wine in crystal, the wine’s mouthfeel, aromatics and balance are also affected by choosing crystal. One writer with Anders & White states that “wine poured into crystal glassware is believed to give you a more authentic representation of the wine’s intended flavors and aromas.”

Another reason crystal glassware is preferred is that it typically features a much thinner, finer rim and the rim is very much an important component of the glassware. The width of the rim directly affects the intensity of aromas and guides the wine to specific areas in the mouth. A thin rim allows the wine to flow seamlessly onto the palate, which in turn can make the aromas and flavors more intense. You truly perceive more of the wine’s nuances drinking from a crystal glass with a very fine rim.

The shape and size of a wine glass also has purpose, both can enhance the aromas of the wine which is so important for the entire wine tasting process. Researchers have proven that 80-90% of what we taste is a direct result of what we can smell, so anything that can impact this sense is important. The size of the glass (volume) does affect the intensity and quality of the aromas of wine, again enhancing your wine tasting experience. Typically, red wines are served in a wider glass bowl for aeration purposes while white wines are served in a smaller glass bowl to preserve the beautiful aromas white wines have to offer. I personally use universal shaped and sized glasses, a middle ground so to speak, or I would have to add some cabinetry to my house to accommodate the many different wine style glasses on the market!

Now we come to the stem versus stemless glassware debate. The science behind having a stem is simple, the heat from your hand will warm the wine to possibly unwanted temperatures, after all you have been carefully storing your wines in a dark and temperature-controlled space, why heat them up now? Stemless glasses are very convenient for storage and usage, especially on the patio on a windy day, however, going back to the beauty of wine as we are looking into the glass, fingerprints on the bowl take away from the beauty of the wine in the glass don’t you think?

I did splurge on very fine crystal glasses that are wine style specific and I find this truly does enhance the tasting experience of those wines, the way the glass feels in my hand and the thin rim delivering the wine seamlessly, however, they are quite precious to me and I do not offer them to my guests willingly, sorry friends.

This quick blog has just scratched the surface of all the why’s and what’s that go into glassware choice,I found many wonderful articles explaining all the science behind glassware influence on wine, and I began to be overwhelmed! My advice is to find a glass that feels right in your hand and brings the wine to your palate with joy! Perhaps do splurge on a wine specific glass for the sake of research!

When you visit Kalasi Cellars, we hope that our glassware choice enhances your wine tasting experience.

Cheers!

Anderswhitesydney.com
“Why Wine Tastes Better in Crystal Wine Glasses”
“How the Right Wine Glass Helps You Enjoy Wine More”