Not many people fully understand why you can buy so many different shaped glasses in the shops these days. To the uninitiated the variety may seem a little unnecessary, surely they can’t change the flavor of the liquid they hold can they? Well actually they can, and here is a breakdown of some of the most common glass types and how they affect the drink.
Whisky Glasses. The reason that whisky is most often drunk from a wide tumbler is an interesting one. Whisky is often served in small amounts as it is frequently enjoyed straight, rather than being added to a mixer. The result of this means that if whisky was served over ice in a narrow and tall glass, the area of the drink in contact with the ice would be quite small as the ice would be stacked up the glass. As ice is necessary to chill the whisky and release its deeper flavors, it’s best to serve the drink in a wide shallow glass where the ice can move around and have more contact area with the liquid, thus chilling the whisky more.
Champagne Flutes.Champagne is traditionally served in a tall, thin flute and there is an interesting reason as to why. The bubbles in champagne contain quite a overpowering aroma that is forcefully released into the glass as the bubbles burst when the reach the surface. If the glass was wider then your nose would enter the glass when drinking and the gas would enter the sinuses, having a negative effect on the flavor.
White and Red Wine Glassware. The shape of a red wine glass is more often than not large and round. The wine can really be thrashed about in this shape of glass and this mixing effect not only enhances certain flavours but releases many more aromas into the glass. Also a wide glass means your whole nose can easily fit within it, which is important for soaking up all the rich aromas. Most people drink white wine out of a glass with smaller proportions and not so much of a bowl-shape. This is because you want to keep the flavors quite compacted in the glass and absorb more of the aroma of white wine through the mouth rather than the nose.
Filed under Wine by 
There is something universally appreciated about wine. People drink it on every continent and more often than not, from a glass. Have you ever asked yourself though, why from a glass? Why not from a mug, wooden goblet or plastic cup? The answer is unfortunately not that simple. You will find in fact a number of different alternative materials used in various countries that wine is drunk from. For example in Japan, wine is drunk from a ceramic vase-shaped container and in Thailand, wooden cups are often used. However, the overriding choice of tableware drinking vessel, wherever you go, is glass. As it happens this is not down to glass being particularly excellent, rather the alternatives being really just not that suitable. Let take a look at them shall we.
Wood. As stated earlier, wooden cups are used to drink wine from in some countries, however there are some major draw backs. First off, the wood often gets stained in you choose to drink red wine from it. Even if the wood is of a very high quality, staining will happen. further more, rotting can often take place in the wood if it has liquid on it for a while. So every time it gets used, it would need to be dried pretty well.
Metal. If you’ve ever used a metal vessel to consume wine from, you’ll understand how the flavour is not quite right. Metals have a large number of things called ions, and when most wines come into contact with it ‘displacement’ can happen. This essentially means that often a number of the metal’s ions displace into the wine and this causes an alteration in the flavour. This is why you often pick up metallic notes when drink from this type of cup. Also, because of its very heat-conductive qualities, almost any other material would keep the wine cooler when you’re holding it
Ceramic. Like glass, ceramic is non porous, does not release any of its qualities into the wine, and can be easily cleaned with a glass cloth. This is why it is a popular alternative, but there is one very simple reason that it has not been embraced in the same way as glass – It is not transparent. Admiring a wine’s colours and depth is a major part of any wine drinking experience. The desire is a very instinctive one and something that has been around since the development of glass.
Filed under Wine by
