The most interesting factoid about wine glasses is that they quite literally have the ability to change the flavor of the wine. Their shape plays a role in how oxygen mingles with the liquid before it hits your palate. Physics are truly in effect- For the best wine drinking experience you need to carefully choose your wine glassware. This can be particularly important if you are in the wine industry or food and beverage industry. Your customers will appreciate the care and thought that you put into carefully choosing the tool with which they are going to be drinking from. Proper wine glasses can often be overlooked by inexperienced wine drinkers; It's your job as the expert to make sure they get the most pleasure possible after spending their money on wine in your establishment.

Learning about wine glasses can sometimes be a daunting task. Not only is there a different glass for every type of wine, but there are thousands of different types of each glass. Wine glass designers have created pieces that go from the simplest forms to the utterly insane. Some even mix the styles of glass blowing often associated with artistic tobacco pipes. High to width ratio is usually among the first decisions made- Will the glass be skinny and tall or short and fat like a wine goblet. Almost every wine glass type also comes in stemmed and stemless form. As an industry expert or host at a gathering it is your job to balance style with functionality. Don't get so caught up in using the most trendy glass that you let the wines true flavors be dulled.

Port glasses are often the smallest of varieties. Port tends to be a super sweet wine, much like a liquor, and enjoyed in small doses. They are also most often used for dessert wines of all types, not just ports. Muscat's, Muscato's, and sherry are other wines of note for this glass. Traditionally these glasses hold roughly four to five ounces. Since dessert wines are often served without being chilled it is common to find dessert wine glasses without stems.

Sparkling wine flutes (also used for Champagne) have notably long shapes. A common misconception is that the shape helps bubbles form in the wine, but this is not the case. The long bodies were designed to highlight the bubbly characteristics of sparkling wines and Champagne- The design itself does not create any bubbles. Flutes virtually always have stems since Sparkling wine and Champagne are always preferred chilled. Keeping the drinkers hands away from the portion of the glass holding the wine prevents the wine from warming up as quickly.

In our next article, we will talk about the most common types of wine glasses, including those for red and white wine.