You can drink wine out of a coffee mug or mason jar or red sippy cup or even straight from the bottle, it doesn’t really matter, that is, if you’re in it to get tipsy. However, if you’re in it for the best tasting experience certain glass shapes work better for certain wines. Find out why and how to select the ideal wine glass for your personal drinking preferences. The information below isn’t really about social-cultural etiquette as much as it’s about how a wine glass controls the tasting experience and ultimate makes any wine taste better. And, if having the right glass is an important aspect of drinking better wine, then it’s well worth knowing! “a wine glass controls the tasting experience There are many different wine glasses to choose, but the fundamental shape is the same… There is finally a piece of research out there that has shown us that glass shape matters. A study came out in February of 2015 by a Japanese medical group who developed a special camera that photographs ethanol vapors as they leave the opening of a glass.

The reason why ethanol vapors are a useful thing to photograph is because this is how the wine aromas (aroma compounds) enter your nose. Other drinks use the wine glass shape: In the study , the wine glass shape performed the best for delivering aromas in a consistent ring around the rim: Answer: The many glass shapes for wine are because of the several different wine styles. The best thing that you can do to make wine taste better is to select a glass that highlights your favorite style of wine. Below, you’ll see a summary of several glass shapes and wines that tend to perform very well in these shapes. PICK A GLASS: See a brief questionnaire to find out which wine glasses are best for you. 2 main styles of white wine glasses emphasize maintaining a cool temperature and/or delivering aromas White wines are typically served in smaller bowled glasses. You’ll notice that full-bodied white wines such as oak-aged Chardonnay or Viognier, older white wines, orange wines and some vintage sparkling wines are typically desired out of a larger bowled white wine glass.

This style, originally introduced by Riedel as a “Montrachet” glass , emphasizes the creamy texture in these wines with a wider mouth. There are several styles of red wine glasses depending on the style of wine Red wines are typically served in larger bowled glasses The choice of a red wine glass has a lot to do with mitigating the bitterness of tannin or the spiciness to deliver a smoother tasting wine. We’ve noticed after a few years of tasting, that wines tend to taste smoother with a wider opening. best wine/beverage centerOf course, the distance to the actual fluid seems to affect which aromas you smell.best dry red wine 2016 You may find a reason to pick up a few specialty wine glasses depending on what you tend to drink the most. wine for me party animal

For example, the Port glass (shown above on the right) is quite small with a very narrow mouth so that it reduces evaporation (it’s a high alcohol wine). SPECIALTY GLASSES: See more specialty wine glasses here. Understand the difference between crystal glass and regular glass and find out which style works the best for you. Crystal vs Glass When it Comes to Wine Glasses Explore more styles of wine glasses and learn how to pick the best basic set (based on your needs).best inexpensive dry white wine What Types of Wine Glasses Do You Really Need?best wine shop in washington dc Learn the trick to clinking glasses so that they’ll never break…and will make a cool “ding!”good wine to drink with cheese

Learn the Trick to Clinking Wine GlassesCheck out all of our products >The Difference Between Red and White Wine Glasses Red wine glasses and White wine glasses differ in shape and size, driven by the types of wine they are intended to hold. Typically Red wine glasses will be a bit taller and have a larger bowl than White wine glasses. In general Reds are bigger and bolder wines so they require a larger glass to allow all those aromas and flavors to emerge. "But do I need both types?" While you can certainly get by with one set of glasses, if you expect to drink a number of different varietals you may find that the glassware is holding back your experience, particularly if you opt to drink Red wine out of a smaller White wine glass. Does that mean you won't enjoy your wine? While the various shapes and sizes can be overwhelming, a proper varietal-glass pairing can make a tremendous difference. Return to Wine Glass Buying Guide Return to Buying Guide Home Page Buy Red Wine Glasses

Buy White Wine Glasses Why Varietal-Specific Wine Glasses Make A Difference >Wine Basics - Introduction to Wine, Wine Drinking Wine Glasses - Choosing the Right Wine Glass Best Shapes for Wine Glasses The single most important thing you need to pay attention to when choosing the right wine glasses is the wine glass shape. The wrong shape in a wine glass will completely alter the wine tasting experience, even to the point where you can't properly examine or smell the wine in order to evaluate it. You don't necessarily need to get a different glass for every type of wine - though that is possible - but you should try to have a different glass shape for white wine, red wine, and sparkling wine. Why Do Wine Glass Shapes Matter? Wine glass shape affects how the wine tastes because the shape of the wine glass affects how well the wine aerates. A narrow glass shape allows very little surface area for the wine, preventing it from aerating well. Narrow glasses also force you to fill them up fuller, preventing you from swirling the wine to increase its surface area.

Finally, narrow glasses don't have enough room for you to put your nose into the glass and breathe in deeply, which is necessary to best experience a wine's aroma. Wine Glass Shapes: Red Wines As a general rule, red wines require glasses that have the widest bowls. Because red wines are made with the grape skins, they can have far more complicated compounds in them than white wines which are made without the skins. It is easier to appreciate all of a red wine's complex aromatic compounds with a glass that makes it easier for you to entice those compounds out of the wine. With a larger bowl, you can pour more wine into the glass while still being able to swirl around quite a bit. It's important, though, that the top of the glass become narrow rather than remain broad. A narrow rim ensures that the air in the glass, now filled with the wine's aromatic compounds, doesn't quickly escape. This allows you to put your nose in the glass and breathe in the mixture. Wine Glass Shapes: White Wines Because white wines are made without the skins, glasses for white wines don't need bowls that are quite so broad nor do they need to narrow by as much at the rim.

You don't want perfectly vertical sides to the glass, but you will do just fine with a glass that is simply a smaller version of what you use for red wines. Because it can be an imposition to have very many good wine glasses, you can usually get away with just one sort of glass for both red and white wines. It doesn't need to be as large as a traditional red wine glass, but it's probably more important that it not be too small. Wine Glass Shapes: Champagne & Sparkling Wines Although you can get away with a single glass for both red and white wines, you shouldn't use the same glass shape for sparkling wines. Not only is there no need to breathe in as deeply the aromas of sparkling wine, you definitely shouldn't swirl it around in your glass. For this reason, sparkling wines should fill up their glass, which should be a champagne trumpet, tulip, or flute. These champagne glasses are named for the shape they resemble: the trumpet looks like the bell-end of a trumpet, the tulip looks like the head of the tulip flower, and the flute is simply a long, narrow glass like a flute.