If you love having guests over, you must know what glass goes with what wine. I remember a time when I had just moved in. I did not have any glassware. In fact , a friend of mine came for dinner and we had to settle on brandy glasses to take some red wine. Sad Huh? The glasses sufficed but those were the wrong glass types. There are so many wineglasses in the market and a walk round a supermarket will tell you that. I will show you the basic wine glasses and what they serve.
This is a conclusive chart from wine folly that I use when explaining on glassware.
Glassware for Red Wine
It is true that you need different glasses to serve red and white wine. Every wine reaches its flavour potential when served with the right glass. Red wines are wines that have fermented with the skins of the grapes and this is what makes them red. They have rich flavours and people drink them some degrees below room temperature.
Red wine glasses should be large with fuller and rounder bowls. They also have fuller openings so that the wine can breath and one can smell the aroma through the large opening.
The complex aromas and flavours of red wine demand a glass with a larger surface area to ensure that the wine comes in contact with more air.
The Bordeaux Glass is taller than traditional red wine glasses, yet the bowl is not quite as large. It is designed for full bodied, heavier red wines such as Cabernets and Merlots. The tallness of the glass allows the wine to proceed directly to the back of the mouth to maximize its flavor.
The Burgundy Glass is designed for lighter, full-bodied wines such as Pinot Noir. It is not as tall as the Bordeaux glass, but the bowl is larger than the Bordeaux glass, directing the wine to the tip of the tongue to taste its more delicate flavors.
Glassware for White Wine
White wine is wine that is fermented without the skins of the grapes and therefore it does not have the red colour.
The glassware for white wine has a U Shaped bowl. It is not as open as the red wine bowl because white wine should maintain its temperature. the larger the surface area the warmer it becomes. For the more mature whites, the glass should be taller but for the younger, the glass should be shorter with a larger opening.
Glassware for Bubbly, Champagne and Sparklings
Sparklings are wines that are bubbly with small bubbles in the glass. These are carbon dioxide bubbles that result from fermentation. The wines should be served in champagne flutes which are narrow from the bottom-up. They are narrow to maintain the fizziness and reduce the bubble loss.
Glassware for Rose Wines
Roses are wines that have had skins of the grapes for a shorter time than the red wines.
Roses should be served with short bowls with a wider lip or stemmed glasses with a short bowl
Glassware for Fortified wines
Fortified wines are wines that are blended with brandy or other liquors. this is done to increase the ABV and to add the taste.The glassware should be small.
Glassware for Desert Wines
Dessert wines are sweet wines served with dessert. Dessert wines should be sweeter than the dessert and they are served in small glasses
