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How to Choose The Right Glass To Serve Your Wine
by Fairfax Tolman
http://www.ftwine.com

You've probably heard that the glass in which you serve a
wine can enhance its flavor. According to the experts at
Riedel Glass in Austria, the glass in which you serve a wine
can certainly enhance its enjoyment. The shape and
composition of every Reidel glass is specifically designed
to present a particular varietal wine at its best. The
Austrian family has been designing wine glasses since the
1950s, though they've been in the glass business since the
1700s.

It's always been known that the shape of the glass can
affect the way that its bouquet and flavor is perceived, but
it took Riedel, manufacturers of fine crystal stemware, to
elevate the explanation to a precise combination of science
and fine art. The Austrian family has been making glass
since 1756, but it wasn't till the 1950s that they began
making glasses specifically designed to enhance the flavors
of different varieties of wine.

Many of the experts ridicule the idea that a bordeaux should
only be served in a bordeaux glass and a chianti in a
chianti glass. They claim that outside of the general
guidelines for wine glasses, the shape of the glass makes
little difference to the flavor and bouquet of the wine.

The glass making experts at Riedel Glass in Austria
disagree. Since 1958, when they first started their
experimentation with subtle variations of shape and design
in wine glasses, they have made an art of designing the
perfect glass in which to serve nearly every variety of
wine.

The company, founded by an Austrian family who have been
involved in the glassmaking industry since the 1700s, makes
fine lead crystal glasses. They claim that the shape of a
glass can subtly influence the presentation of fine wines by
gently emphasizing the most characteristic vapors and
collecting them in such a way that they are delivered to the
nose and the palate in a specific order.

While Riedel makes literally dozens of glass varieties, even
they state that the subtlest differences are only noticeable
by the most educated palates. If you can only afford one or
two sets of glasses, choose one to serve red wines, and one
for sparkling wines.

Red wines should be served in glasses with wide bowls,
narrow mouths and long stems. The width of the bowl and the
quicker taper to the narrow mouth allows the character of
the wine to collect and settle so that the 'bouquet' is
delivered to the nose before the liquid hits the tongue.

White wines can be served in the same glass, though the more
delicate aroma and bouquet will benefit from a more narrow
shape and a slower taper to the mouth so that the vapors
aren't overwhelmed or lost.

White wines should be served in glasses that are narrower
and have a thinner taper to the mouth in order to preserve
the delicate notes of their lighter vapors. Red wines can be
served in glasses that are more goblet shaped to allow their
characteristic bouquet to gather and settle before being
delivered to the nose. Sparkling wines should be served in
tall, narrow flutes to minimize the exposure of the wine's
surface to the air and preserve its effervescent sparkle.

If you only choose one glass (and at $90 to $200 for a set
of six, you might want to confine yourself to one choice),
it should be a mid-size glass with a tulip shape. The
classic Chianti or Bordeaux glass is similar enough to most
glasses used to serve white wine that your palate will never
notice the difference.

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