How the taste of wine changes with the glass.

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 01:40:22 GMT

This entry is for those of us in a tight budget. Since we are not able to afford nice Riedel wine glasses, we are stuck with those sold by Walmart or our local supermarket. So, for this entry I tasted the wine in my previous review, Escudo Rojo, to write how the aroma and taste change with the type of wine glass. I am only using very affordable and cheap wine glasses for this review for those in a tight (or student) budget. So, what is the best alternative? (The pictures of the glasses are illustrated below)

1. Regular glass: First off, we have our run of the mill water glass. nothing fancy, bought at a Walmart or Big Lots. With this glass, there was barely, if any, aroma. I actually smelled the glass and the detergent used to wash it. The wine had a very bland taste. I could taste some butter but not much. It was spicy and dry.

2. Generic Wine Glass #1: I bought this glass (the one in the middle) at my local licquor store. It is thick and small. Not great to get a good swirl going or to allow the air to mix in well with the glass. The wine appeared darker in this glass than in Glass #2. It was really hard to appreciate the aroma. I could definately smell the buttery aroma more than anything else. The wine is very biting and sharp to the tongue. But, somehow it tastes sweeter just before the aftertaste (which is very dry and full of black pepper).

3. Generic Wine Glass #2: I bought this wine glass at a local dollar store (first from the left). It has a long stem and a pretty good length. The glass is thinner than Wine Glass #1. THe wine looks lighter in color and smelled peppery and buttery. It also made the tastes milder. The aromas definately mixed better and you could get a wider range. It was shapr and bitter. Very dry with a strong, but short, aftertaste. I would definately go with this wine glass because the aromas mixed better. Afterall, 98% (or something like that) of taste is smell. This glass might be good to taste a Cabernet.

So, what do you look for in a wine glass?

1. Make sure it is plain and clear. It is impossible to really appreciate the color of the wine with a cored or frosty glass. Also, cut or glass with ridges also makes it hard to appreacite the color. So, the best option is a plain and clear glass.

2. Make sure that the glass has a deep enough bowl to allow for a good swirl, a good amount to be poured, and enough oxygen to enter and mix with the wine to release the aromas. If you are using a small glass, you might spill the wine when swirling it. Also, this prevents you from truly appreciating the bouquet (the combination of the aromas) in the wine because it is too short to release a good bouquet.

3. You need a stem. Forget those chic looking stemless wine glasses. What is the stem for? Simple. You hold the glass by the stem and not by cupping the bowl. Cupping the wine warms up the bowl and it does not tastes as good warm. So, you need a glass with a stem!

4. Wider at the bowl, narrow at the top (the rim). The wine glass should be wide at the bowl (where the wine sits) and narrow at the top to allow for a good swirl and also for aromas to concentrate at the nose.

5. For reds you want a bigger bowl and for whites you want a smaller bowl. For sparkling wines and Champagne you need a flute.

So, stop drinking out of plastic or regular glasses and get some wine glasses following the guidelines above.

Charleen's Wine Corner: Wine Info

How the taste of wine changes with the glass.