Are you using the wrong wine glass?

By Leticia Borges.

Answer: Probably.

Everyone has a theory about wine glasses. What is the right glass for a Pinot Noir?  Can I use the same glass for Cabernet Sauvignon?  How many glass shapes and sizes do I need? Does the glass really make a difference?

I always thought the glass debate was a crafty way to sell more glassware. Perhaps, I just couldn’t afford to buy –or store– ten sets of wine glasses to fit every type of wine I drank.

A few years ago, I attended a workshop on the topic. The goal of the course was to prove the shape and size of the glass would allow the taster to perceive the best aromas and flavors of a wine. I approached the class with a bit of skepticism, but it was an opportunity to learn about wine, so I played along.

I must admit I left the course understanding the theory behind using the right glass. I also realized most people don’t give a damn about theories when they’re enjoying a glass of wine.

Let’s take sparkling wine for example. There is something inherently sexy about popping a cold bottle of Champagne and pouring it into a tall, elegant, stemmed flute. Watching the bubbles rise to the rim.  Waiting for the fizz to dissipate. The repour. They’re all part of the sparkling wine protocol that we all enjoy so much. What if there was an equally effective way to enjoy that wine without having to buy the classic but expensive glass? Would you stop using a flute? Probably not. The appeal of sparkling wine is heightened by the illusion that it’s classy and elegant. A flute helps deliver the emotional connection with that aspirational lifestyle. Somehow, an ordinary stemmed glass just doesn’t make the experience richer.

The same could be said for any wine glass. Burgundy, Bordeaux or sweet wines, all have a glass supposedly designed just for them. Does it really make a difference?

Will a coffee mug do the trick?

As a firm believer in understanding the rules before attempting to break them, I set out to reach my own conclusion. It would be me trying to prove that a coffee mug or a plastic cup is all you need to enjoy wine. How hard could it be? It’s not like I would be up against the wine glass manufacturing industry and other pseudo wine experts, right?

Let’s start with the basics. Two terms are important when trying to explain why the glass matters when tasting wine: Taste buds and balance.

Remember those tiny receptors on the tongue that detect sweet, bitter, salty, sour, spicy, and umami? One school believes the tongue is organized by areas and every area has a specialty flavor they detect first. For example, the sides of the tongue detect tart and sour first while the tip of the tongue detects the subtler sweet flavors.

In theory, the shape of a wine glass should help all the taste buds interact simultaneously. This means that a sip of sweet wine out of the right glass will shoot the wine away from the sweet receptors first.  This will allow the parts of the tongue that detect other more nuanced flavors to become involved. If the glass shot the sweet wine directly into the sweet receptors first, the mouthful would seem very sweet forward.  Here is where balance comes into play. The right glass can help bring out the sense of harmony in a wine. Interestingly, the difference is noticeable when using the right and wrong glass in a side-by-side exercise.

My conclusion

After tasting numerous wines in the correct and the incorrect glasses, I must acknowledge that the glass does make a difference. However, there is one important caveat to my conclusion.

Someone with a trained palate, who truly understands wine nuances, will appreciate the differences between using the right or the wrong glass. Conversely,  everyday wine drinkers (I call them normmeliers) won’t be able to tell the difference.  More importantly, they could care less about the topic in general.

Does that mean it’s okay to serve wine to our guests in a coffee mug from now on? Not quite. The point I’m making is that there’s no need to spend hundreds of dollars in very expensive glassware. Don’t get me wrong. I fully understand the need to have the nicer things in life. But if you aren’t inclined to invest in a set of sexy stemware, don’t feel the pressure to do so.  The way I see it, basic, inexpensive stemware will get the job done. If you want to be fancier, buy two sets of glasses.  One set that has a larger rounder bowl for red wines and Burgundy whites and a second set of smaller, more tapered glasses for all others –yes, all others– including sparkling.

More importantly, remember that wine is just an excuse to enjoy a moment and the people with whom you share those moments. If that’s the logic, then a plastic cup should be as good as dragon glass.