Apr 18 2010
Lolita Wine Glass??
Any sommelier worth their trade can tell you that the look of a wine glass is important to the perception of the wine itself. Wine glasses or Martini glasses are available in an amazing assortment of styles, with certain styles reserved for particular types of wine. Wine glasses fall under the category of stemware, which are drink ware that stand on stems above a base.
So a wine glass is composed of three parts: the bowl, where the drink is contained, and the stem, which supports the bowl upon the foot, or base. The proper way to drink from a wine glass is to hold it by its stem. It is commonly assumed that this is done, particularly in the case of chilled wines, in order not to affect the temperature of the drink by passing along one’s own body heat thru the hand and fingers.
But that is a misconception, as wine enthusiasts hold drink ware so so as to discern color and lucidity without their own hands and fingers getting in the line of sight. One apocryphal bit of lore concerning taste that will basically be true concerns the actual construction of wine glasses : those made of fused or cut glass are alleged to gracefully change a wine’s true taste.
Blown glass is a satisfactory material for casual drinking in hand-painted wine glasses, but many professionals in the field claim that the highest quality wine should be served in lead crystal wine glasses. They certainly look very impressive, to be sure, what with a higher index of refraction that results in aesthetically more pleasing lighting effects passing through them. They’re also heavier and so feel really nice when grasped, for those who take wine-tasting so seriously as to reserve special wares for the activity must of requirement also find strong solid glasses a further pleasure that increases all pleasure overall.
