Basic Requirement of Glass with Class

Earlier, the class of a glass used to make them ornate, colourful, heavy, using even materials like silver as we have seen in case of our maharajas and Mughal kings. Riedel proved scientifically, based on the experience of several professional tasters, that the glass should be plain, light and thin to enable maximum contact with wine and enabling the drinker to clearly see the wine colour.

It must have a long stem (and hence the name stemware) to enable holding and swirling the glass to release wine aromas to the maximum. It should have a bowl curved wide enough to hold wine safely within the glass on swirling. The shape must taper in at the top to provide a thin and smaller rim to help entrap the aromas so when you stick your nose into the glass the concentrated aromas go directly into your nostrils. With every sip you take, you can properly enjoy the palate and nose. The base should be wide enough to give the proper balance.

The glass can be mouth blown or machine made but these days with huge volumes, machines have taken over almost completely. Several other produces have entered the arena offering shapes similar to Riedel which has designed different shapes to get the optimum flavour and bouquet of different

Wines e.g. there are different shapes for Bordeaux is Burgundy, Shiraz, and Chianti in the re while similar shapes have been designed for whites, roses and even sherry, port and ice wine.

WHICH VARIETIES TO OWN
It is neither feasible nor necessary to own glasses with different shapes in the restaurants or your home. One red wine glass, taller and wider and a similar but smaller one for whites may be just fine, although having a couple of different shapes for reds like what Westin had organised looks classier and can add to the wine experience.

For sparkling wine on the other hand a tulip-shaped glass, known as flute — tall, clear and slender — is adequate. The tall glass helps release of tiny bubbles from the bottom whereas the shape ensures keeping the precious bubbles trapped for a much longer period than the old saucer-shaped glasses which are a disgusting sight in many restaurants. Unless it is a celebratory occasion, the use of such glasses enables those millions of tiny bubbles that make Champagne a special and unique drink run out really fast. Recently, there has been a rising and acceptable trend to use regular white glasses for the bubbly too.

OUT WITH ORNATE GLASSES
All of us must have been through the stage of collecting wine glasses made of cut glass, be it Bohemia, Waterford or the ubiquitous Crystal d'Arc from France, proudly displayed at home with the pressed cut glass Luminarc or the d'Arc serving proudly at the restaurants. Serving in these glasses today only shows you up in bad light in the company of a guest or customer who is a wine connoisseur.