Wine Glasses,I know that the shape of a wine glass is better for certain wines depending on the wine.
But, does the thickness or the thiness of a wine glass have an value of importance?
Question about wine glasses, can you help please?
July 23rd, 2011 · 5 Comments · Wine Stemware
Tags: shape·thiness·wine glass·wine glasses·wines
Kathy H // Jul 23, 2011 at 1:41 am
The thickness of the glass should not have an effect on the taste of the wine. If you like to pop your wine wine glasses in the dish washer and not have to "baby" them, I would avoid glasses with thin stems as they do break easily (especially in the dish washer).
For more info on wine glasses visit http://www.cheers2wine.com/wine-stemware.html
Erik H // Jul 23, 2011 at 1:41 am
not as far as I know. search for glass types for alcohol and you’ll get a ton of stuff, some glasses are made to be able to smell the certain type of alcohol better for example.
sam56sg // Jul 23, 2011 at 1:41 am
A wine glass is a type of glass stemware which is used to drink and taste wine. It is generally composed of three parts: the bowl, stem, and foot. Selection of a particular wine glass for a wine style is important, as the glass shape can influence its perception.
The shape of the glass is also very important, as it concentrates the flavor and aroma (or bouquet) to emphasize the varietal’s characteristic. One common belief is that the shape of the glass directs the wine itself into the best area of the mouth from the varietal.
Generally, the opening of the glass is not wider than the widest part of the bowl.
The stem of a glass provides a way to hold the glass without warming the wine from body heat. Visually, a stem prevents fingerprints from smearing the glass. A new trend for wine glasses is the "stemless" wine glass which come in a variety of sizes and shapes as well. These glasses are typically more casual than their traditional counterparts, as they negate the benefits of using stemmed wine glasses.
Except for the wine connoisseur, wine glasses can be divided into three types: red wine glasses, white wine glasses, and champagne flutes.
Red wine glasses
Glasses for red wine are characterized by their rounder, wider bowl, which increases the rate of oxidization. As oxygen from the air chemically interacts with the wine, flavor and aroma are subtly altered. This process of oxidization is generally more compatible with red wines, whose complex flavors are 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 and Merlot 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. 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, 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 oxidization 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, oxidization is less desirable as it is seen to mask the delicate nuances of the wine. To preserve a crisp, clean flavor, 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 Spumante, 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. The glass is designed to be held by the stem to help prevent the heat from the hand from warming the champagne. 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 far more pleasent visual appeal.
Sherry glass
A sherry copitaA sherry glass is drinkware generally used for serving aromatic alcoholic beverages, such as sherry, port, aperitifs, and liqueurs, and layered shooters. An ISO-standard sized sherry glass is 120 millilitres (4.2 imp fl oz; 4.1 US fl oz). The copita, with its aroma-enhancing narrow taper, is a type of sherry glass.
Thickness of wine glasses is not very significant. The best wine glasses is crystal.
Christine // Jul 23, 2011 at 1:41 am
Since there is no air passing through the glass, it doesn’t matter how thick the glass is at all on the taste of the wine.
Brian // Jul 23, 2011 at 1:41 am
Some. Let’s take a step back.
Going from a tumbler to a wine glass does several things: moves your hand away from the bowl (unless you cup it, which you shouldn’t) to eliminate hand warmth, gives you a smooth, flowing curve of glass to swirl and pour smoothly and creates an area above the wine for aeration and nosing. This change in glassware is big and pretty important.
Going from a generic wine glass to a red/white wine glass improves the pour speed, proper aeration (big for red, small for white) and where the wine first hits your tongue. This is a smaller improvement, but a good one.
Going from a generic "red" to a merlot vs cab sav glass can get somewhat expensive and really is not important for casual wine drinkers. The only exceptions would be flutes for sparkling wine, but even this isn’t absolutely necessary. I drink quite a bit of wine and I have two sizes of reds (big and bigger) and I only switch to the really big ones for really spicy reds (cab franc, malbec), and then only if I feel bothered to dig them out of the cupboard.
Now for your question: thin glass is lighter and generally means a higher quality of manufacture and design. It will change temperature slightly faster (air temp, allow more hand warmth to transfer). Is it meaningful? Not particularly. I got some nice red glasses as a present and prefer them because they’re made better and they swirl nicer. I don’t think they do very much for the wine itself, though.