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Six Tips on Wine Glasses From a Professional
To drink wine, you must have the proper
glasses. That is
pretty much the end of it as far as I am concerned.
Wine just does not taste the same if it is not in the
proper glass.
There are many different types of wine
glasses, of varying styles and quality. There are a number of
manufacturers of fine, and somewhat expensive, crystal glasses,
designed specifically for use with certain wines.
Riedel is the most well known in this category.
It's not necessary to spend a lot of money, however, as long as
you purchase glasses, also often referred to as 'stemware', that
obey a few simple rules.
Rule #1 Glasses Must Be Plain and Clear
When choosing wine glasses, firstly pay attention to the
material from which it is made. At the very least, the glass
must be plain and clear. Part of the enjoyment of wine is
appreciation of the colour. The colour gives a lot of
information about the wine, giving clues to the grapes used, the
age of the wine, and so on. It is no accident that the
Australian show judging system gives 3 points out of a possible
20 points solely to colour.
Thus, wine glasses made from coloured or
frosted glass, or worse still solid materials such as pewter or
silver, are useless.
There are a few wine glasses around made
from cut crystal.
These glasses are often beautiful to look at, but they are just
no good for drinking wine properly because you cannot see the
wine clearly. As a
subsidiary point, they are often too small or the wrong shape,
but we will get to that shortly.
Rule #2 Glasses Must Be Big Enough
Secondly, when choosing wine glasses, make sure that you select
glasses which are of a sufficient size. The bowl should be large
enough to allow a fair measure to be poured, whilst leaving
enough room for the wine to be gently swirled without spilling
the wine.
The standard measure of wine in a
restaurant is 150ml – so there are about five glasses in one
750ml bottle. Over the dinner table, you will pour between four and five
glasses per bottle, so the glasses you use have to be big enough
(a) for the wine and (b) to swirl it around.
This swirling action is to release aromas
from the wine, and is therefore vitally important. Some wine
glasses are so tiny that they must be filled to the brim in
order to achieve a decent size pour, and these are therefore
plainly inadequate.
Rule #3 Glasses Must Have a Stem
The glass must have a stem, not just for aesthetic reasons, but
mainly so that the wine glass may be held without covering the
bowl in greasy fingerprints.
Winemakers will often tell you that
holding by the stem also ensures that warmth from the hand does
not increase the temperature of a wine that has been served
chilled. In
practice, however, this is not such a problem. If you watch
winemakers drinking wine, you will notice that their hand very
rarely touches the bowl.
They only hold the glass only by the stem or base.
They also unconsciously swirl the glass almost
incessantly. So
deeply engrained is this habit that they even do this to glasses
of water sometimes!
There are occasions when a white wine is
served too cold.
Winemakers will then cup the bowl of the glass with both hands
for several minutes to warm the wine up.
This is because the all important aromas do not rise from
cold wines.
Rule #4 The Top of the Glass Must be
Narrower Than the Bowl
The shape of the bowl is of considerable
importance. Good wine glasses taper in somewhat at the top, so
that the aperture is narrower than the bowl lower down. Whilst
this appearance is aesthetically pleasing, it is also of
functional importance. A wine taster will use a swirling action
to release precious aromas from the wine, and this tapered shape
serves to concentrate the aromas towards the nose. This design
is particularly evident in glasses designed for Pinot Noir, in
which appreciation of the full range of aromas is so important
in enjoying the wine.
The standard wine tasting glasses used in
wineries and show judging, the XL5 glass, is much more tapered
at the top of the glass than at the bottom.
Rule #5 Have at Least Three Types of
Glasses
Most wine drinkers would agree that
different styles of wines demand different types of wine
glasses. At the most basic level, there are three types of
glasses that you should have at home:
·
A flute for Champagne and sparkling wines,
·
A red wine glass with a larger bowl for red wines, and
·
A white wine glass with a smaller bowl for white wines.
You can take this concept further by
buying glasses that are made specifically for individual
varieties. The maxim here is that “the content dictates the shape.”
Riedel, for example, make a glass for every variety that
Killerby Vineyards produces.
Even though we have these varietal glasses on hand, we
don’t use them every night at home when drinking wine.
They mostly come out at dinner parties or at serious wine
tastings.
There is no real need to have hand blown
glassware – machine made glass is more than adequate.
Hand blown glass (such as the Riedel Sommelier range) is
wonderful for special occasions, but is almost impossible to
keep from breaking in normal household usage.
If you are buying Riedel, we recommend the
Vinum series of machine made glassware.
"“The finest glasses for both
technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by
Riedel. The effect of these glasses on fine wine is
profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference
they make.”
Robert
M.Parker, Jr.
The Wine Advocate
  
  
Rule #6 Eight Steps in Looking After
Your Glasses
Much is written about how to treat
glasses, but there are really only a few simple rules.
1.
New glasses should be washed before use. This is because the smell of cardboard is carried in new
glasses and this will interfere with the flavours of the wine.
2.
Glasses should be washed between use.
3.
Some advocate using hot water alone, and some advise the
use of detergent. I
prefer the use of detergent.
Those
that use detergent should, however, ensure that they give the
glasses a thorough rinsing afterwards, as even just a
trace of lemon or similarly scented washing-up liquid can ruin
the nose of a wine.
4.
There is no doubt that domestic dishwashers clean glasses
well. In my view, they clean them better than hand washing.
Be
careful, however, how you stand the glasses in the dishwasher.
If delicate stem ware (ie: Reidel Sommelier glasses) are
put upside down in the racks and can move around, you will break
most of them over time.
5.
Whichever you prefer, always hold the glasses up to the
light to check they are clean.
> A
superficially clean looking glass may in fact be covered in a
fine coat of scum which is difficult to remove with just gentle
washing.
> This can
adversely affect the wine, particularly sparkling wines or
Champagne, which will not demonstrate their fizz if placed into
a glass like this.
6.
If you wash them by hand, allow the glasses to drip dry.
7.
Once dry, a quick polish will quickly rid them of any
residual water marks, which look a little unsightly but are
easily removed.
Again,
with delicate stemware such as Reidel Sommeliers, try not to
force the whole tea towel into the bowl of the glass as this
will smash a high proportion of the glasses.
8.
Store them standing upright in a clean, odour-free
cupboard ready for use.
See
Them In Action
If you want to see fine glassware in
action before you buy, try these restaurants that use Riedel
glasses:
Western Australia
Altos
424 Hay Street
Subiaco
Western Australia
Telephone: 08 9382 3292
Court Wine bar
84 Beaufort Street
Perth
Western Australia
Telephone: 08 9227 1200
Friends
'Hyatt Centre" 20 Terrace Road
East Perth
Western Australia
Telephone: 08 9221 0885
Gusti
54 Terrace Road
Perth
Western Australia
Telephone: 08 9270 4222
Jacksons
483 Beaufort Street
HighgateWestern Australia
Telephone: 08 9328 1177
Jones Restaurant
26 Denis Street
Subiaco
Western Australia
Telephone: 08 9388 1585
Windows
Burswood Resort Great Eastern Hwy
Burwood
Western Australia
Telephone: 08 9362 7777
New South Wales
Banc
53 Martin Place
Sydney
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9233 5300
Bathers Pavillion
4 The Esplanade
Balmoral
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9969 5050
Boathouse on Blackwattle Bayer
Ferry Road
Glebe
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9518 9011
Darling Mills
134 Glebe Point
Glebe
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9660 5666
Forty One
The Chifley Tower Lvl 41, 2 Chifley Square
Sydney
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9221 2500
Jonah's
69 Bynya Road
Palm Beach
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9974 5599
Kok Restaurant
143 Enmore Road
Enmore
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9519 0555
Mercure Inn Sandcastle
20-24 William Street
Port Macquarie
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 6583 3522
Mezzaluna Ristorante
123 Victoria Street
Potts Point
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9357 1988
Morgans Restaurant
304 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9360 7930
Park Hyatt
7 Hickson Road
The Rocks
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 2411234
Riverview Hotel
29 Birchgrove Road
Balmain
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9810 1151
Rockpool
107 George Street
The Rocks
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9252 1888
Watermark
29 The Esplanade
Balmoral
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9968 3433
Chicane
1a Burton Street
Darlinghurst
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9380 2121
Blueberries
107 Mount Street
North Sydney
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9954 4919
Credo
Riverside Cabins Diggings Terrace
Thredbo Village
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 6457 6844
De Beers
24 The Strand
Whale Beach
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9938 5575
Freshwater
On The Beach, Moore Road
Harbord
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9938 5575
Grand National
161 Underwood St (Cnr Elizabeth St)
Paddington
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9363 3096
Marritz Alphine Inn
Kosciusko Road
Perisher Valley
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 6457 5220
MG Garage
490 Crown Street
Surry Hills
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9383 9383
Quay Grand
69 Macquarie Street
Sydney
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9256 4000
Sails
2 Henry Lawson Ave
McMahons Point
New South Wales
Telephone: 02 9955 5793Victoria
Bamboo Terrace
201 Bulleen Road
Bulleen
Victoria
Telephone: 9852 0541
Bar Corvina
157 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda
Victoria
Telephone: 9537 0244
Barwon Heads Golf
Golf Links Road
Barwon Heads
Victoria
Telephone: 5254 2304
Becco
11-25 Crossley Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9663 3000
Blakes Events Warehouse
Shed 9, South Wharf Road
Southbank
Victoria
Telephone: 9699 4300
Blakes
Tenancy Ground 2/2 Southgate
South Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9699 4100
Bonum
2/50 Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9650 9387
Cafe Distasio
31 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda
Victoria
Telephone: 9525 3999
Cafe Sempre
188 Little Mallop Street
Geelong
Victoria
Telephone: 5229 8845
Caffe Mediterraneum
2 Nicholson Street
East Coburg
Victoria
Telephone: 9654 1929
Candy Bar
165 Greville Street
Prahran
Victoria
Telephone: 9529 6566
Capital
113 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9663 1811
Chateau Yering Historic
Suite 1, 43 Railway Road
Blackburn
Victoria
Telephone: 9237 3333
Choi's BYO
186 Riversdale Road
Hawhtorn
Victoria
Telephone: 9818 2299
Cicciolina
130 Acland Street
St Kilda
Victoria
Telephone: 9525 3333
Cincotta's Cafe & Bar
209a Mair Street
Ballarat
Victoria
Telephone: 5331 11402
Citrus at Beaumaris
8-10 North Concorse
Beaumaris
Victoria
Telephone: 9589 2199
Clogs
106 Pall Mall
Bendigo
Victoria
Telephone: 5443 0077
CPC
Shop 4, 26 Princess Street
Kew
Victoria
Telephone: 9852 8134
Cracklins
506 Swan Street
Richmond
Victoria
Telephone: 9428 7516
De Lacy
29 Niagra Lane
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9670 9099
Decoy
308 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9620 7122
Dundas & Faussett
11 Dundas Place
Albert Park
Victoria
Telephone: 9645 5155
Dyers Steak Stable
28 Little Bridge Street
Ballarat
Victoria
Telephone: 5331 2850
Est Est Est
440 Clarendon Street
South Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9682 5688
European
161 Spring Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9654 0811
Ezard at Adelphi
187 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9639 6811
Fiorelli
209 Camberwell Road
East Hawthorn
Victoria
Telephone: 9882 0222
Flowerdrum
17 Market Lane
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9662 3655
Fortuna Village
235 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9663 3044
Ging Wah
198 Chapel Street
Prahran
Victoria
Telephone: 9510 2194
Haggers
268 Toorak Road
South Yarra
Victoria
Telephone: 9827 7733
Hamilton Club
39 Gray Street
Hamilton
Victoria
Telephone: 5572 2299
Harveys
10 Murphy Street
South Yarra
Victoria
Telephone: 9867 3605
Helvetica
Lvl 32, North Tower Rialto 525 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Hotel Australia
73 Fryers Street
Shepparton
Victoria
Telephone: 5821 4011
Hotel Sofitel
25 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9653 0000
II Solito Posto
Shop 4/113 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9654 4466
Isis
38D Head Street
Brighton
Victoria
Telephone: 9699 4244
Koh Samui Thai
251 Richardson Street
Middle Park
Victoria
Kostas Tavern
48 Mount Joy Parade
Lorne
Victoria
Telephone: 03 5289 1883
Lakehouse
King Street
Daylesford
Victoria
Telephone: 03 5348 3329
Langtons
61 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9663 0222
Linton House
68 Central Springs Road
Daylesford
Victoria
Lombardi's on Queenscliff
38 Hesse Street
Queenscliff
Victoria
Telephone: 03 5258 3277
Luxe
14 Inkerman Street
St Kilda
Victoria
Telephone: 9534 0255
Lynch's
133 Domain Road
South Yarra
Victoria
Telephone: 9866 5627
Marchetti's Latin
55 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9662 1985
Melbourne Wine Room
The George Hotel 125 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda
Victoria
Telephone: 9525 5599
Mercer's
732 Main Road
Eltham
Victoria
Telephone: 9431 1015
O'Connells Hotel
193 Montague Street
South Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9699 6900
One Fitzroy St
1 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda
Victoria
Telephone: 9593 8800
Plough Hotel
333 Barkly Street
Footscray
Victoria
Telephone: 9687 2070
Pomme
37 Toorak Road
South Yarra
Victoria
Telephone: 9820 9606
Prahran Hotel
82 High Street
Prahran
Victoria
Telephone: 9529 8577
Punch Lane
6/43 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9639 4944
Strega Ristorante
Shop 10, Grand Lvl, Crown Casino Complex
South Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9645 5400
Royal Garden
59 Upper Heildelberg Road
Ivanhoe
Victoria
Telephone: 9497 4845
Rubira's
5 Rae Street
North Fitzroy
Victoria
Telephone: 9489 1974
Sandhurst Club
14 View Street
Bendigo
Victoria
Telephone: 03 5442 3070
Saragossa Cafe
369 Bridge Road
Richmond
Victoria
Telephone: 9429 7880
Saucier Restaurant
1007 High Street
Armadale
Victoria
Telephone: 9822 8515
Scusa Mi
2 Southgate Precinct
South Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9699 4111
Seaford Hotel
362 Frankston Dandenong Road
Seaford
Victoria
Telephone: 9786 5999
Shark Finn Restaurant
Lvl 3, 130 Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9662 2681
Sozai Restaurant
1221 High Street
Armadale
Victoria
Telephone: 9824 8200
Studley Park Boathouse
Boathouse Road
Kew
Victoria
Telephone: 9853 1828
Syracuse
23 Bank Place
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9670 1777
Tastings
1102 High Street
Armadale
Victoria
Telephone: 9509 9019
Tea House on Burke
911-913 Burke Road
Hawthorn
Victoria
Telephone: 9882 9088
Templestowe Hotel
23-29 Parker Street
Lower Templestowe
Victoria
Telephone: 9850 4866
The Management Centre
Deakin University
Geelong
Victoria
Telephone: 035227 3000
The Point Restaurant
Albert Park Lake Aquatic South Drive
Albert Park
Victoria
Telephone: 9682 5566
The Prince of Wales
29 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda
Victoria
Telephone: 9536 1122
Vista Bar & Bistro
123 Bridport Street
Albert Lake
Victoria
Telephone: 9699 7757
Vue De Monde
295 Drummond Street
Carlton
Victoria
Telephone: 9347 0199
Walter's Wine Bar
Ur1 Southgate
South Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9690 9211
Waterfront Bar Restaurant
Shop 19/8 Whiteman Street
South Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9686 9766
Wild East
357 Victoria Street
West Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9329 5568
Zukini
Suite 908, 220 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria
Telephone: 9620 1900
Queensland
Brisbane Polo Club
1 Eagle Street
Brisbane
Queensland
Telephone: 07 3229 3766
Customs House
399 Queen Street
Brisbane
Queensland
Telephone: 07 3365 8999
The Grand Golf Club
364 Gilston Road
Gilston
Queensland
Telephone: 07 5596 0400
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