Guide to Wine Glasses

 

 

 

If you couldn’t get your hands on glass, what did you use? Many alternatives have been used over the years ranging from the simply practical to the bizarre. Here are a few of the more unique drinking vessels from the last millennia presented here courtesy of the Gurdies Winery in Australia:

 

Piggin - from the middle ages, a small leather cup.        

 

Noggin – small wooden mug around 1/4 pint.

 

Goddard – pewter vessel used by the church.

 

Bombard – tall, holding several gallons, richly decorated.

  

Hanap – a tall, ornate largely ornamental vessel, eventually only used on special occasions and stored in a hanaps basket, hence a hamper.

 

Tappit-Hen or Stirrup Cup – A tankard with a cup shaped lid originating in Scotland, used to send off guests late at night with a final brew, the lid keeping the brew safe when the guests departed on horseback.

 

Fuddling cup – vessel with three or more small cups with interlinked handles and joined through a small hole in the walls, the idea was to drink from one cup without spilling the contents of the others.

 

Whistle cup – From the Middle ages, whoever could drink the most for the longest got to blow the whistle as the ‘last man standing’ to order more drink.

 

Puzzle jug – Jug with many holes around the neck which have to be closed with fingers and thumbs to make sure you can drink from the top.

 

Yard glass – traditionally a quart measure from the mid 1600’s with a bulb at one end which had to be drunk without taking it from ones lips.

 

Milk jugs – before coffee and tea, mixes of herbs and milk were drunk around the table from a communal jug shaped like a cow, the tail being the handle. This later became a communal wine glass passed around.

 

          

 

 

Cocoa nut and ostrich egg cups – both have been made into silver encrusted cups.

 

Gourd cup – originated in the early 1600’s fashioned in silver to look like a gourd with the stem being the tree trunk.

 

Toby jugs – can be sailors, priests, policemen or anyone from famous ceramic makers.

 

Wine tasters – a little silver flat bowl with two handles on each side flat with the top rim. From the Medieval days to taste the contents of bowls to convince guests that nothing was poisoned. The finest glass was made from the late 17th century to the early stages of the 18th century. The most popular form was a simple goblet with a glass stem.

 

Jacobite glass – became common from the 1700’s onwards with each Freemason lodge having it’s own glassware.

 

Dice glasses – have two dice sealed into the base, used in old taverns to settle who pays for the purchases.

 

Last drop glass – featured an engraved man hanging from the yardarm that is not visible till the last drop is drunk.