One of the quickest and easiest ways you can improve your wine drink experience, is to upgrade your wine glass!
When I started studying wine at ‘wine school’, we used an ISO standard wine glass. It meant that the glass would not influence the tasting and we could focus on grape variety, aromas, flavours and writing tasting notes. I decided it was time to start experimenting with different glasses.
Could a wine glass really influence the way a wine tastes? You might not believe it, but it can! My (non-scientific!) experiment involved two bottles of white wine: an oaked chardonnay and an unoaked, crisp grapefruit bright Riesling. I purchased a chardonnay glass and a Riesling glass from Riedel and poured each wine into the wrong glass. The wines tasted the way it should. There was nothing wrong with the way the wines tasted. I then sampled the wine in the correct wine glass - wow! What a difference!
Both wines transformed! The chardonnay glass, a wide, goldfish like goblet glass, encourages you to smile while drinking. The wine to washes across the whole of the palate. The oaked chardonnays flavour and texture were enhanced. The acidy in balance. The Riesling glass, like a flute glass, had focused the wine onto the tip of the tongue - ideal when tasting Riesling, but not a creamy character chardonnay!
Likewise, the Riesling benefited from the change in glass. The wine became laser focused and balanced.
Give it a try! Treat yourself to a new wine glass and try your favourite wine in it – can you taste a difference?
