The shape and size of glass from which you drink a wine is often not something people are concerned about. The flavours will be unaffected right? Well, owning a whole range of different glasses for drinking various wines is something that is becoming increasingly popular.The grandfather of Mr Riedel (The well known wine glass brand) was the pioneer of the different shaped wine glasses and was the first to produce special designs for different wines.Since then lots of people have joined this train of thought and expressed a noticeable difference in wine taste. Shaun Green, buyer for San Francisco based Wine Merchant K & L is someone who believes in this passionately, saying “It really does make a difference”. Riedel now have over 40 different types of wine glasses, but if you can’t afford, or haven’t got space for these glasses, which ones are vital to own?
Red Wine - You really need a big-bowled smooth and basic glass for the drinking of red wine. This allows you to swirl the wine in the glass and release it’s flavours. It also allows you to fit the whole nasal area into the glass to soak up the rich aromas. This is a characteristic that is also seen in whisky glasses
White Wine – The smaller-bowled glass with a higher rim is needed for drinking white wine. The creates a nice compact space for the flavours to swell and prevents any of the aroma from exiting the glass.
Champagne – The long thin iconic shape of champagne glasses is needed to drink this luxury product. The flute preserves the bubbles better than any other shape and the small circumference prevents the strong gases from the bubbles overpowering the sinuses.
Almost all other wine types can be drunk out of these 3 basic designs so no need to fork out for a massive set. So if you haven't got these 3, you might have some shopping to do.
Tags: champagne, drinking, shapes, sizes, wine glasses