Glassware And Serving Basics (2)

Having perfect glassware to toast with friends is not a bad idea. It sure will get you compliment from friends when the party is over. There are now specific glasses made for every major varietal and region in the world, and they do work.

But calm down. It’s not necessary to stock them all. You will do just fine with a few well-chosen glasses that match your own wine buying, drinking, and entertaining habits.

What you need will depend on the type of entertaining you do and the quality of the wines you serve. For a picnic or surface party, where you will be pouring simple wines from current vintages, a couple of dozen clear tumblers may suffice.

For better wines and more formal tastings or intimate dinner gatherings, you will need a selection of stemware that allows each guest a flute-shaped glass for sparkling wines, a tapered, ten to twelve-ounce glass for white wines, and a larger, rounder glass for red wines.

Seriously, avoid coloured glass, even if just the stem is tinted. You want to be able to see the wine’s own colour. In a dishwasher, run the glasses through hot water only; don’t use detergent.

Toss out those tiny, thicklipped glasses with the rolled rims; use tumblers instead. Remember, size matters. Your glass should be large enough to hold three or four ounces of wine without being more than one third full.

You need the airspace to properly display the wine’s aroma which means retaining the flavour. The right glassware is the single most important aspect to setting yourself up for a good tasting experience. And, close behind is serving your wines at the right temperature.

Whether white or red, wines that are too cold will lose all aromas and much of their flavour.

Wines that are too warm may lose their crispness and turn flabby and volatile; heat also intensifies the impression of alcohol. Sparkling wines and sweet dessert wines are served at cooler temperatures, to be sure. When this class of wine is served over-chilled, it causes their aromas to be muted and their flavours to be less detailed.