YOU’VE mastered the intricacies of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Barossa, and pride yourself on choosing the perfect wine to complement a meal, whether it’s Asian fusion or a hearty hanger steak. Perhaps you even have a storage unit or, if you’re lucky, a cellar, to store wine at the proper temperature. But is your glassware still from the Chianti-in-a-straw-bottle age?
Wine consumption has grown with an appreciation for the character of varietals, from classics like cabernet and chardonnay to less familiar names like Grüner Veltiner, a peppery Austrian white, and malbec, a mellow red grape from Bordeaux that has played a starring, solo role in Argentine wine.
So it is not all that surprising to see that glassware has followed suit. Today, wineglasses are increasingly designed to showcase the character of specific varietals.
The theory is that the design of the wineglass — from the shape of the bowl and degree of tapering at the rim, to the design of the rim itself — can affect the way someone experiences the aroma, taste and harmony of a wine. The nuances of a complex red wine, for example, might unfold and beguile in the appropriate glass, but turn harsh and closed in another.
Indeed, according to many wine professionals, the right stemware can mean the difference between savoring a luscious wine and feeling shortchanged.
Others dismiss it as more marketing gimmick than science. The notion that a glass can pinpoint the flow of wine to the tongue “is ridiculous,” says Ted Allen, the wine expert and TV personality. Joshua Wesson, chairman and executive wine director of Best Cellars, a chain of stores that specialize in quality wines under $15, believes that a glass can have some influence on wine, but not as much as other factors like temperature. People fall prey to a sort of “placebo effect” when doing a guided tasting, he said.
Many wine pros say that most people can do fine with three sets: a big-bowled basic glass for reds, a smaller-bowled basic for whites, and a Champagne flute (a flute preserves bubbles best). “If you’re really cramped for space, get one general purpose glass and call it a day,” advised Mr. Allen, who is also a spokesman for Robert Mondavi Private Selection.
The important things to look for in a general purpose glass are a decent-size bowl that allows you to swirl the wine and stick your nose in (since smell accounts for much of what we think of as taste), and clear, unembellished glass or crystal.
The answer ultimately comes down to individual tastes and lifestyles. “If you’re an avid wine drinker, making an investment in four or five styles of wineglass is a very small investment that pays many dividends,” Mr. Kopec says. At Veritas, five versatile glasses from Riedel’s Sommelier line handle most of his needs.
For those who have the storage space, like to entertain, or are regularly quaffing Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, nothing is more elegant than a handblown crystal goblet, like Riedel’s Burgundy Grand Cru model. This generous glass can hold an entire bottle of wine (although experts recommend pouring just four ounces at a time to leave plenty of room to swirl and aerate the wine). When clinked — always at the widest part of bowl, lest they break — they give off a deeply resonant tone that sounds like church bells.
“They really look beautiful,” says Ron Ciavolino, director of wine studies at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. “But some idiot usually knocks one over and you’re supposed to laugh like you don’t care.” New York Times.
