As someone who occasionally drinks wine, I have always wanted to know, does a wine glass matter?
And according to champagne expert and owner of Liquor Emporium, Oscar Masubelele, the answer is an absolute yes!.
Masubelele took to Twitter this week to put it out there that as wine consumers we need a different glass for every variety of wine - one for chardonnay, another for pinot noir, one for cabernet, another for sauvignon blanc, and so on. That if we haven't been doing this, then we have been drinking wine incorrectly.
Did you know that you need a different glass for every variety of wine — one for chardonnay, another for pinot noir, one for cabernet, another for sauvignon blanc, and on?
— Monsieur Ponto - Le Vigneron🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦 (@monsieurponto) July 5, 2020
If not, you have been drinking wine incorrectly. 😉🤞
How, we may ask? From our research, wine experts reveal that the shape of a glass and style impact how much air comes in contact with the wine, how much aroma is released and reaches your nose, and especially where the wine first hits the tongue.
So, how does one choose the right wine glass? We went to find the answers and got them from Kitchen is my Playground who details them.
The shape of a glass and style impact how much air comes in contact with the wine, how much aroma is released and reaches your nose, and especially where the wine first hits the tongue. Picture: Kitchen is my Playground
Consider the bowl shape
The width of a wine glass's bowl impacts the amount of the wine's surface area exposed to air. It also affects how much of the wine's aroma is experienced by your nose. With wide bowls, much of the wine is exposed to air and a lot of aroma reaches your nose. With narrower bowls, less wine is exposed to air and less surface area is present to release aroma to your nose.
The shape of a glass and style impact how much air comes in contact with the wine, how much aroma is released and reaches your nose, and especially where the wine first hits the tongue. Picture: Kitchen is my Playground
Choose a wide bowl for reds
Red wines typically require a large wide bowl to best allow their bigger bolder aromas and flavours to emerge. Wider wine glass bowls allow more aromas to waft up to your nose and also help aerate the wine as you drink, helping release more flavour.
The shape of a glass and style impact how much air comes in contact with the wine, how much aroma is released and reaches your nose, and especially where the wine first hits the tongue. Picture: Kitchen is my Playground
Choose a narrow bowl for whites
Because most white wines have more delicate flavours and aromas, a narrower glass helps channel these subtler aromas more toward your nose. It also exposes less of the wine's surface area to air and helps preserve white wines' chill.
The shape of a glass and style impact how much air comes in contact with the wine, how much aroma is released and reaches your nose, and especially where the wine first hits the tongue. Picture: Kitchen is my Playground
Choose a tall narrow flute for sparkling wine
Who doesn't love the fun little bubbles in sparkling wine? However, sparkling wine loses its carbonation once exposed to oxygen. So to keep effervescence intact as long as possible, choose a tall narrow fluted bowl to best preserve all those beautiful bubbles.