Wine comes in many different styles and is made from numerous grape varieties. The diversity of high-quality wines available today has created opportunities for wine glass makers to create dozens of different glasses designed to maximize your enjoyment of wine (not to mention spirits and water.)
The base philosophy is simple: You’ve spent a considerable sum of money on a fine wine, why not enjoy it in a glass that is equal to the wine? A well-made wine glass is a work of art in and of itself: beautiful to look at, perfectly balanced to hold and a pleasure to taste from.
While stemless glasses are popular today, using traditional wine glasses are best. The reason for this is threefold. First your wine should be served at the proper temperature, when you hold a stemless wine glass; your hand quickly warms the wine in the glass. Two, the smell of any aromatic substance that you’ve handled recently can linger and interfere with your enjoyment of the wine’s aroma including elements you may have touched or eaten such as garlic and soup. And finally, holding the glass by the bowl leaves fingerprints on it and you want to be able to observe your wine clearly. The stem is there for a reason, so make use of it.
Decanting
The subject of enjoying red wine brings up the related subject of decanting wine. Red wine may be decanted for one of two reasons. One is to allow the wine to breathe by exposing it to oxygen by pouring it into a decanter. This helps develop the bouquet and softens the flavors and mouth feel of the wine.
The second reason is to separate a mature wine from the sediment often found in the bottom of the bottle by slowing pouring the wine into a decanter. This sediment is simply grape matter that has precipitated into solid matter. While it is entirely harmless, it is not aesthetically pleasing. So decanters do serve an important purpose and are not just fancy wine accessories: although a beautifully designed decanter can clearly add to the enjoyment of the wine as well.
