Guide to Wine Glasses

As long as there has been wine there has been a way to hold it. A wide variety of vessels have been used over the many centuries it took for the wine glass to evolve.

The history of wine glasses begins with the discovery and production of the world’s first glass materials. Types of glass, like Obsidian, occur naturally in nature and have been used as tools since the Stone Age. Glass production for things like jewelry started in the third millennium BC in Egypt. However, it was not until the reign of Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) that we see the first evidence of glass hollowware. There are several formulas for making glass contained in the clay-tablet library of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC). Remarkably, the recipes recoded contain basically the same ingredients that glass is made from today, but in different ratios.

In his Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) describes the composition and manufacture of glass which during his time, were as expensive as precious metals in the Roman Empire. He believed that glass was the preferred vessel for drinking wine, however the time required to produce it made drinking wine from glasses too expensive and impractical.

In the meantime, on the heels of the bronze age, the Romans used goblets made of lead, silver, or pottery. The technology of drink-ware evolved immensely during this time and there were many alternative materials to glass that were used in different parts of the world.

The Roman-Britons of the 5th Century created a shallow cup on a tall stem called a Cylix. Other types of Cylices were more functional with thicker stems or wider bowls. Earthenware vessels were made for common use. Horn Flagons were used for communion by the church until AD 785 when they were forbidden. The church then moved to wooden chalices and then silver and gold over the next 400 years. Wood tankards were in common use in households and taverns by the end of the first millennium and were made of wood that was bound together with wattle or hide and came complete with a handle and a lid.

Leather vessels known as ‘Black Jacks’ became popular in the 14th Century. They consisted of pieces of leather sewn together to form the shape of a jug and handle. The first part of the name comes from the black pitch that was used on the inside of the jug to seal it. The latter part of the name derives from the leather used to make the vessel. The material was similar to the leather vests that archers used as light armor known as a ‘jack of defense’.

The wine glass was well on its way. As the methods for glass making improved, costs diminished and the glass became the vessel of choice. By the 1400’s, we see the first examples of wine glasses with a base, a stem, and a foot.

There are three main categories of wine glasses: Red wine glasses, White wine glasses, and Champagne flutes.  Each glass is designed to enhance the flavor and aroma of the wine by controlling how the wine oxidizes as well as how it is sniffed and tasted.

Red wine glasses have larger, rounder bowls on them that allow the wine in react more readily with the air. As this happens, the wine will begin to change, bringing out an array of aromas and flavors. The wide mouth of the glass is designed so that you can get your nose right into the glass while taking a sip. It also allows more room to swirl the wine and infuse air before taking a sip. There is some variance in sizes and shapes of red wine glasses. Bolder wines often have a lot on the nose and are best experienced in a slightly taller glass allowing the wine to sit further down in the glass – not as much surface area needs to be exposed. More delicate red wines however, require a lot of surface area to bring out all of the nuances. Their wide, oversized bowls easily distinguish these glasses.

White wine glasses are generally designed with a narrower bowl and mouth in order to allow some oxidization but not too much, too quickly. This is done so that the crispness that tends to characterize white wines remains intact and the aromas and flavors that are there are not smoothed out altogether. As a general rule, the cleaner and crisper the wine you are presenting, the narrower the glass. However, since there is such a variance of white wines, you see many different shapes of glasses. For some white whites, such as a buttery Chardonnay, a wider bowl is desirable, similar to a red wine glass so that it can breathe more and the complexities of wine can be detected.

Finally, a champagne flute would be the extreme example of a narrow-mouthed glass. It is designed to keep oxidization to a minimum, keeping in the clean, crisp flavor as well as the carbonation. Champagne and other sparkling wines do not need to swirled around and our nose does definitely not need to be right in there with it. A champagne flute’s shape forces us to tip our head back further when taking a sip causing the wine to fall further back onto our palates while our nose is outside the glass.

Choosing wine glasses that will compliment your wine is very important. The importance of the glass begins with the fact that this is the way the wine is presented. Wine is one of the finer things in life and should be presented as such. Besides getting that great clinking sound when we raise our glasses, we also choose a glass because we want to see the wine. Putting your Chardonnay in a thermos, while equally refreshing, would hide the beauty of what it looks like, not to mention affect the taste and smell, masking all of the things we could glean from it. A clean, clear glass allows us to inspect the color and clarity of the wine, which is very helpful when trying to understand how the wine has aged and it’s other properties. All too often, it is also the way we discover if the waiter has got some sediment or even bits of cork in there.

One of the most important things to consider when choosing the right glass for your wine is its shape. The shape of the glass determines how the wine will be exposed to the air and begin oxidization. One of the most amazing things about wine is how it changes over time. Not only does it age slowly in the bottle over many years, but it ‘ages’ very quickly once it is exposed to the air. There are countless variables that affect the final look, taste, and smell of a wine including: soil, rainfall, sunlight, age of the vines, aeration, length of growing season, insects, transportation, and storage conditions just to name a few. All of these variables leave their mark upon the wine and are stored its unique chemical makeup, waiting to be discovered upon opening. Winemakers do their best to control these variables in and effort to produce the best wine possible, but there are so many that cannot be controlled. The glass you choose to present your wine in is one of the last variables in a long line of factors that will affect how much you will enjoy it and this is a variable we can control. The food you pair it with and how you taste it are the last two, although some would say that the company you’re with can make or break it too!

So, do your research, ask questions, and learn. This is not just wine snobbery for the sake of impressing one another. It is a simple thing that can really enhance your experience and enjoyment of wine, not to mention your meal.

Cheers (clink)