Choosing a wineglass first with its senses

Flute, tulip, balloon, there are a thousand and one forms of wine glasses . To choose the right wine glass, you have to think about the 3 senses put to the test during a tasting: the sight, the smell and the taste . Once we have this "sensory methodology", we apply it to all wines:

- The view : a wine glass must be as transparent as possible. It avoids using smoked glasses, decorated or colored that would spoil the real color of a wine and therefore its tasting.

- Smell : so that the wine can develop its aromas to the maximum, it requires a rather wide oxygenation surface , so a glass whose base is wide . Then to concentrate again these same aromas, the edges of the glass must be tightened . Thus, a glass with a wide base that tightens around the edges gives the taster an olfactory pleasure much more important than if the drink was poured into a glass of any kind.

- The taste : The quality of the wine is not everything and a too thick glass can ruin a tasting . The glass should be thin, about 1 millimeter so as not to be bothered by a too thick glass lip.

Wine glass: what size?

After taking into account our 3 senses, it appears that a good wine glass is fine, it has a fairly wide base and narrow edges. The specialists agreed that the best form for a wine tasting was the tulip form . Short foot, elongated balloon shape (like the flower, closed tulip), this form of glass is mostly taken again and improved according to the wine that one wants to taste.

Tannic and powerful wines

The glass suitable for tasting a powerful tannic wine can contain more than 40/45 cl . When wine is served in a tall glass, it stops as soon as the glass begins to tighten.
The tannic wines are mainly red wines from the south , Languedoc, Spain, Chile, Médoc but also some white wines such as white Burgundy or Meursault.

Light red wines, dry white wines and rosés

For lighter wines , opt for a glass that can hold 30 to 45 cl . For light red wines such as Beaujolais or Rouge de la Loire, we will opt instead for containers of 40 to 45 cl . For dry white wines and rosés , we can count smaller but not below 30 cl.

Sweet white wines

For mellowness , the wineglass used is smaller, containing 28 to 35 cl . Be careful, serving a sweet white wine in too big a glass makes the wine lose its aromas.

Champagnes and cremants

And no, the traditional glass of champagne is not really the best for a champagne tasting in good standing. It's hard to smell champagne with a cup because the edges are too small and the bubbles are nasty tingling lips, preventing us from fully enjoying our taste experience. The flute is a better option because it reveals the acidic areas of champagne and awakens our taste buds. Fun fact, with a small wine glass , the aromas will develop in another way, discovering aromas of champagne wine.

Sparkling wines

The Italian-style sparkling wines Lambrusco are rather tasted in glasses that can contain from 25 to 30 cl .

Universal glasses, is it good?

For those who like to taste good wine but do not want to ruin (because a wine glass can be very expensive), universal glasses have been invented to accommodate a large majority of existing wines on the market. In general, a universal lens has a rather conventional rounded shape , with a fairly wide base and tapered edges. The ideal capacity for a universal glass is 40 cl .

Thanks to Yann Guislain, Trade Marketing Manager France Benelux, Chef & Sommelier for his valuable advice.