Do different types of glasses really make a difference?

29. January 2008 by Sebastien Gavillet.

YES! I will be happy to challenge any wine critic on this issue. Robert Hall once told me, “If the wine matters, so does the glass!”  And I can not agree more to that statement which also happens to be Bottega Del Vino’s Trademarked slogan.

When I first became interested in wine, my father played his part and bought me my first wine book.  I will not mention the author, as I am not in the business of offending people, however after I read the part where the author mentioned that a glass type (glass, pewter, plastic, crystal, tin cup, etc.) should not prevent you from drinking a wine, as it did not make much of a difference, I instinctively knew that that was a false statement.

In the mid nineties, I was invited to a tasting featuring Chateau Yquem’s wines, four vintages to be exact (at least that was what we were told). Four glasses were used; one for each vintage.  After sampling them, we started to talk about the different aromas we could smell, the differences in texture (very slight but noticeable) and the characteristic of the wines. When the host revealed that all four glasses were of the same vintage, I could hear the guests gasping and arguing that it could not be possible.  Not one person was thinking that we were drinking the same wine from the same vintage.  As a group, we were no amateurs which made it all the more embarrassing.   “How can this be?” asked one person.  “It is all about the glass and how the wine evolves in each differently!” replied the host.

Now let me explain to you in more detail why the glass does matters and what makes the difference. Each wine is different and reacts differently when exposed to air. The bouquet, the body and the structure of the wine react differently depending upon the type of glass it is poured into and also upon the shape of the glass.

So why does glass shape make such a difference? It is due to not only the opening of the glass, but also to its rim and its body. With a larger opening the wine is more exposed to air. This allows the wine to breathe, changing not only the wine’s bouquet but its structure. The rim acts like a vent, releasing or trapping the bouquet within the glass. When you sip the wine, a wider opening is going to aerate the wine further, revealing aromas previously not noticeable. Finally, after being more exposed to the air, the structural aspects of the wine will also change.  These changes will become detectable both in the mouth (or on the tongue more precisely) and also in the nose again. (This is the retro-olfactory process, meaning aromas develop or break open when the wine comes in contact with the saliva. Some aromas need liquid to become volatile.)

The entire process is actually more complex and would take a few pages to explain it in detail; however I will reserve the details for my first podcast (video) presentation coming soon so you will have something to look forward to.

I don’t expect you to go out and buy a set of new wine glasses for each type of wine that exists. I do, however, highly recommend that you buy one of each wine glass specifically designed for the types of wines you enjoy the most.  Because it is worth it and, most importantly, because you and your wine deserve it!

In conclusion:  if you are going to drink wine, drink it in a stem glass, crystal preferably, and if you have the option, use one that is best fitted.  This is my recommendation.  Unless you are the type to drink 2buckchuck.  If this is the case, then I don’t think the glass will make much of a difference and I don’t really know why you are reading my blog.

Cheers!

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