A wine glass is a type of

glass Glass is a non- crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenchin ...

that is used to drink and

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

. Most wine glasses are stemware (goblets), i.e., they are composed of three parts: the bowl, stem, and foot.

Shapes

The effect of glass shape on the taste of wine has not been demonstrated decisively by any scientific study and remains a matter of debate. One study suggests that the shape of the glass is important, as it concentrates the flavour and

aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sens ...

(or bouquet) to emphasize the

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

's characteristic. One common belief is that the shape of the glass directs the wine itself into the best area of the mouth for the varietal despite flavour being perceived by

olfaction The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, ...

in the upper nasal cavity, not the mouth. The importance of wine glass shape could also be based on false ideas about the arrangement of different taste buds on the tongue, such as the discredited

tongue map The tongue map or taste map is a common misconception that different sections of the tongue are exclusively responsible for different basic tastes. It is illustrated with a schematic map of the tongue, with certain parts of the tongue labeled f ...

. Most wine glasses are stemware, that is they are goblets composed of three parts: the bowl, stem, and foot. In some designs, the opening of the glass is narrower than the widest part of the bowl to concentrate the aroma. Others are more open, like inverted cones. In addition, "stemless" wine glasses (tumblers) are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. The latter are typically used more casually than their traditional counterparts. Some common types of wine glasses are described below.

Red wine glasses

Glasses for red wine are characterized by their rounder, wider bowl, which increases the rate of oxidation. As oxygen from the air chemically interacts with the wine, flavor and aroma are believed to be subtly altered. This process of oxidation is generally considered more compatible with red wines, whose complex flavours are said to be smoothed out after being exposed to air. Red wine glasses can have particular styles of their own, such as * Bordeaux glass: tall with a broad bowl, and is designed for full bodied red wines like

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon ...

and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

as it directs wine to the back of the mouth. * Burgundy glass: broader than the Bordeaux glass, it has a bigger bowl to accumulate aromas of more delicate red wines such as

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pine ...

. This style of glass directs wine to the tip of the tongue.

White wine glasses

White wine glasses vary enormously in size and shape, from the delicately tapered

Champagne flute A champagne glass is stemware designed for champagne and other sparkling wines. The two most common forms are the flute and coupe, both stemmed; holding the glass by the stem prevents warming the drink. Champagne can also be drunk from a normal ...

, to the wide and shallow glasses used to drink Chardonnay. Different shaped glasses are used to accentuate the unique characteristics of different styles of wine. Wide-mouthed glasses function similarly to red wine glasses discussed above, promoting rapid oxidation which alters the flavor of the wine. White wines which are best served slightly oxidized are generally full-flavored wines, such as oaked chardonnay. For lighter, fresher styles of white wine, oxidation is less desirable as it is seen to mask the delicate nuances of the wine. To preserve a crisp, clean flavored wine, many white wine glasses will have a smaller mouth, which reduces surface area and in turn, the rate of oxidization. In the case of sparkling wine, such as Champagne or

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...

, an even smaller mouth is used to keep the wine sparkling longer in the glass.

Champagne flutes

Champagne flutes are characterised by a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top. The shape is designed to keep sparkling wine desirable during its consumption. Just as with wine glasses, the flute is designed to be held by the stem to help prevent the heat from the hand from warming the liquid inside. The bowl itself is designed in a manner to help retain the signature carbonation in the beverage. This is achieved by reducing the surface area at the opening of the bowl. Additionally, the flute design adds to the aesthetic appeal of champagne, allowing the bubbles to travel further due to the narrow design, giving a more pleasant visual appeal.

Sherry glass

A sherry glass or

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

is drinkware generally used for serving aromatic

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol that acts Alcohol (drug), as a drug and is produced by Ethanol fermentation, fermentat ...

s, such as sherry,

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, aperitifs, and

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyon ...

s, and layered shooters. The ''copita'', with its aroma-enhancing narrow taper, is a type of sherry glass.

Use

Some authors recommend one holds the glass by the stem, to avoid warming the wine and smudging the bowl.

Materials

High quality wine glasses once were made of

lead glass Lead glass, commonly called crystal, is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass contains typically 18–40% (by weight) lead(II) oxide (PbO), while modern lead crystal, historically a ...

, which has a higher index of refraction and is heavier than ordinary glass, but health concerns regarding the ingestion of lead resulted in their being replaced by lead-free glass. Wine glasses, with the exception of the hock glass, are generally not coloured or frosted as doing so would diminish appreciation of the wine's colour. There used to be an ISO standard (ISO/PAS IWA 8:2009) for glass clarity and freedom from lead and other heavy metals, but it was withdrawn. Some producers of high-end wine glasses such as Schott Zwiesel have pioneered methods of infusing

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion i ...

into the glass to increase its durability and reduce the likelihood of the glass breaking.

Decoration

In the 18th century, glass makers would draw spiral patterns in the stem as they made the glass. If they used air bubbles it was called an airtwist; if they used threads, either white or coloured, it would be called opaque twist.

ISO wine tasting glass

The

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in A ...

has a specification (ISO 3591:1977) for a wine-tasting glass. It consists of a cup (an "elongated egg") supported on a stem resting on a base. Verre Inao

The glass of reference is the INAO wine glass, a tool defined by specifications of the French Association for Standardization (AFNOR), which was adopted by INAO as the official glass in 1970, received its standard AFNOR in June 1971 and its ISO 3591 standard in 1972. The INAO has not submitted a file at the National Institute of Industrial Property, it is therefore copied en masse and has gradually replaced other tasting glasses in the world. The glass must be lead crystal (9% lead). Its dimensions give it a total volume between 210 mL and 225 mL, they are defined as follows: *Diameter of the rim: 46 mm *Calyx height: 100 mm *Height of the foot: 55 mm *Shoulder diameter: 65 mm *Foot diameter: 9 mm *Diameter of the base: 65 mm The opening is narrower than the convex part so as to concentrate the bouquet. The capacity is approximately 215 ml, but it is intended to take a 50 ml pour. Some glasses of a similar shape, but with different capacities, may be loosely referred to as ISO glasses, but they form no part of the ISO specification.

Measures in licensed premises

In the UK there has been a steady trend away from serving wine in the standard size of 125 ml, towards the larger size of 250 ml, even though, since 1 October 2010, alcohol retailers have been obliged by law to offer customers the choice of a smaller measure. A code of practice, introduced in April 2010 as an extension to the Licensing Act 2003, contains five mandatory conditions for the sale of alcohol, including an obligation for the licensee to make the customer aware that small measures are available.

Capacity measure

As a supplemental unit of apothecary measure, the wineglass (also known as ''wineglassful'', pl. ''wineglassesful'', or ''cyathus vinarius'' in pharmaceutical Latin) was defined as of a pint, (2 fluid ounces by US measure, or 2 fluid ounces by imperial measure). An older version (before c. 1800) was 1 fluid ounces. These units bear little relation to the capacity of most contemporary wineglasses, or to the ancient Roman cyathus.

References

External links

Scientific study on the shape of a wine glass and perception
{{Winemaking Drinking glasses Drinkware Wine accessories Cooking weights and measures