2010 ~ No. 6    

Shattering Glassware Myths

People get angsty enough about picking the right wine; does glassware need to be so complicated too?

One glassware company, for example, offers no fewer than 12 lines of glassware (one labeled, incongruously, ‘wine’) each with an array of options. A glass for your Shiraz? Check. One for your Cabernet? Check. One for your Zinfandel? Sangiovese? Tempranillo? Check, check, check. And on it goes.

Great, but if you’re just a casual wine drinker, why should you care?

“In essence, what a good wine glass does is help you perceive what a wine has to offer,” says Chad Price, Vice President of Consumer Products for Fortessa Schott Zwiesel. It doesn’t change the taste, he emphasizes, but a good wine may seem better because the glass brings out the best in the aromas and flavors.

He also understands your confusion.

“There is a lot of information thrown out about what a wineglass does for a wine,” he says. “There is definitely a reason for certain shapes of stemware. The correct shape is better, no question. But do you need a separate glass for each varietal? Absolutely not!”

He notes that no restaurant is able to keep on hand the 12 to 14 styles of glassware to match each wine on their list. For most restaurants – and for your needs – it “comes down to four to six glasses.”

First, of course, you need a “basic flute shape” for sparkling wine and Champagne.

Price suggests two glasses for red wines. A big, round glass works for lighter reds such as Burgundy and other Pinot Noirs, as its wider opening and bowl shape provides a greater surface area to bring out the wine’s aromatics.

A taller glass with a smaller opening works better for heavy reds such as Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah and Bordeaux. “More space between the wine and the rim allows the wine to hit the palate correctly and keeps the aromas from becoming overwhelming,” Price explains.

For white wines, he continues, the round, Burgundy glasses can be used for heavy, full-bodied and oaky whites. Lighter whites like Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling require a smaller version of the Bordeaux glass.

Add tumblers for water and cocktails and “you have the world right there!” says Price.

He goes on to suggest an easy way to distinguish the right glass for a wine. “Look at the bottle. Those for Pinot Noir or Chardonnay are rounder, with a soft shoulder, which mimics the glass. Cabernet or Bordeaux comes in a tall bottle with a short neck, thus the tall glass.”

However, don’t just pick up a set of any old wine glasses. “The glass should be nice and thin, with good balance and no tipping point. It should have a nice feel in the hand. The stem should be ample, as you don’t want to hold the glass by the bowl, but the exact height is a personal preference,” he says, noting that he owns glasses with a shorter stem because his wife wants to be able to put them in the dishwasher.

Tumblers aren’t recommended, as you are forced to hold the glass in a way that can warm the wine. In addition, the glass inevitably becomes coated with fingerprints that make it difficult to see and appreciate the wine’s color.

Cost shouldn’t necessarily be an issue either, as it’s “not always a telltale sign of good, bad or otherwise,” Price says. “But it is hard to find an inexpensive glass that will do the job.” He cites $8 to $16 per glass cost of Schott Zwiesel’s everyday stemware lines as a good guideline for quality.

But sometimes, he says, “it’s worth stepping up [to handmade glassware, for example] if you want a few glasses on hand for special occasions, those special bottles, or if you are a connoisseur.”

See, it really is simple after all.

[All glassware photos from Schott Zwiesel “Forte” line.]

The Dishwasher? Really?

It surprised me to hear Fortessa’s Chad Price say he put his stemware in the dishwasher. After all, many professionals recommend using only very hot water to clean wine glasses.

So I turned to Dr. Brent Trela, Assistant Professor of Enology at Texas Tech University and a former winemaker. “You do need to keep the soapy residue off the glass,” he said. But if the idea of not using soap leaves you feeling a little skeevy, Dr. Trela suggests a good triple rinse to remove any detergent and its odors.

Of course, this does depend on the type of glassware you are using. Many believe that crystal glasses tend to absorb odor, thus the need to avoid detergent. (“I’m skeptical,” says Dr. Trela).

And while regular glassware can potentially chip or break if not treated carefully, Price points out that the Schott Zwiesel glasses are made with titanium, making them “immune to dishwashing” and generally stronger than a typical piece of glass stemware.

The bottom line? If it’s high end, expensive and/or handmade stemware, hand washing without soap sounds like a good idea. Otherwise, suds up and rinse well!

Italy's Toe