Wine Glasses, a Quick Guide

Wine glasses are the staple method for drinking wine. It is perceived to be the appropriate manner in all social circumstances. While it is quite possible to drink wine of any type of cup, such as a plastic cup, not only will it be deemed as not classy in most circumstances but you will also be doing yourself a grave injustice.

Wine glasses were created to help facilitate the drinker’s experience. There are many types and forms of wine glasses available in the market. They range from the standard wine glass to the stemless wine glass, there is a reason he the broad spectrum of choices. Each type of drink wear serves a purpose and was created for a specific reason.

There are four major types of wine glasses, the red, white dessert and sparkling glass, which is also known as the champagne flute.  One may wonder why the need for so many types of glasses just to drink wine. Does it make a difference which glass that you use when drinking a specific wine? The short answer is no, but the long answer is yes. While all wine glasses are comprised of the same basic components which are a stem, a base, and a bowl. The only exception to this basic build is the stemless wine glass. All wine glasses are not created equal. While the stem and the base may be the same, the bowl of each glass is different. (Editor's note: in our Wine Essentials Gift Basket we have some wine glasses, my brother in law Matt greatly prefers glasses with stems, I like these stemless versions quite a lot better)

The red wine glass is made with a much larger and rounder bowl. The larger bowl helps to facilitate the aeration process and also provided ample room to swirl the wine. This wide bowl also allows the aromas to easily find their way to your nose. With red wine glasses you will find some with a much more tapered rim than others. The difference in the rim helps to direct the wine to your mouth, allowing easier sips during tastings.

White wine glasses have bowls that are not as large and round as the red wine glasses. They have more of a U-shape design. This shape helps the wines aromas to easily escape the glass and also helps white wines maintain their cool temperatures by keeping the wine condensed.

The sparkling wine glass, or the champagne flute, is much slimmer in comparison to the design of a white wine glass. This shape helps to retain the flavor and carbonation of the wine for a longer period of time.

Dessert wine glasses are extremely small in compared to any other type of wine glass available. This is because dessert wines are much sweeter and have higher alcohol volumes than any other wine on the market. So with these wines a little goes a long way. Dessert wines are not meant to be drunk like a bottle of soda, but instead sipped on slowly. 

While you can drink a white wine out of a red wine glass, using the proper glassware for drinking wine, it will certainly help to enhance the wines flavors and aromas. 

Editor: Of course, at some point you'll need some wine to put in your glass….why not join a wine club to help with that? Hey, we had to ask!