What kind of wine glass should you use?

Wine glasses are pretty to look at and fun to drink out of, well actually you could drink wine out of a dixie cup and that would be okay too! But seriously, there is an etiquette to drinking wine. Certain glasses are designed to go with certain types of wine.  

Here’s a brief tutorial:

White Wine Glasses 

White wine glasses vary in shape, but usually have a medium to slightly wide mouth. Some wines require a bit of air, like Chardonnay, so you would want to use a wider mouth to allow more oxygen to enter the glass. Most of the major varieties of white wines don’t need to breathe as much, as a matter of fact a glass with a smaller mouth will do, you want to preserve the “crisp” flavor of the wine.

Red Wine Glasses

I’m sure you’ve noticed that red wine is usually served in wide mouth glasses.  Why you ask?  Because it needs to BREATHE!  Red wine absolutely requires oxidation in order to be enjoyed, without it the wine can be bitter and tannin laden. Red wine glasses often look like bowls with stems, wide open. 

Make sure you read the post on Wine Aerators.

Champagne Flutes

Champagne glasses are usually called flutes (because of the design).  Long, tall, and slender, they are designed to help preserve the “bubble” in Champagne and sparkling wines. When you’re drinking Champagne make sure you hold the flute by the stem, so that you don’t warm it up.  Believe me hot Champagne is not enjoyable.

Sherry Glasses

Sherry glasses are not just for sherry, but pretty much for any wine that has strong aromas. Usually these wines are on the sweet side (i.e. sherry or port).  

The next time you have a few winos' over for a drink, serve them right!