Glass act: The right glass for the right wine
By Gao Ceng |
July 26, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SOME wine lovers spend a fortune on fine wines yet skim on buying the right wine glasses.
They haven't realized that an inappropriate serving glass can spoil the beauty of a wine and, hence, the value of the bottle.
A thin, colorless glass in the appropriate shape allows full appreciation of the wine, its color, aroma and tastes.
"Pour a beautiful Pinot Noir into a short, trumpet-flared, thick-rimmed glass and it's no longer Pinot Noir. It's just red wine," writes Bill St John, wine columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
Generally, thickness, weight and shape are the three main considerations in judging a good glass.
Presuming that the glass isn't too fragile, then the thinner the glass the better and the less color the better, so the clarity of the wine itself is highlighted, according to Kirati Assakul, chairman of Ocean Glass PLC, a leading wine glass maker in Asia.
Thin, colorless, lead-free glass is recommended, clearly presenting the wine's color from the depth of the bowl to the rim, indicating age and variety. Usually a violet purple in the rim indicates a young wine, while a tawny brown edge indicates an older wine.
Although luxury glass and crystal brands, such as Waterford, are known for their elegant design and heavy-cut crystal stem, glasses of moderate weight and good balance are more suitable for daily wine tasting. Lighter glasses have a better hand-feel and are more easily swirled to elicit aromas.
Some wine experts say too much marketing fuss is made about using the precisely "right" shape for a given wine; they hold that as long as the basic shape is right, the colorless glass and relatively light-weight, then the rest is not really necessary.
However, the idea is catching on, due to efforts by Austrian brand Riedel and others designing specialized shapes to complement different wines. Now, there are glasses designed for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet and other varieties, as well as for various wine-growing regions. Lucaris, an Asian crystal brand, offers Bordeaux and Burgundy glasses.
Glass makers follow similar design rules to highlight wine character. The Cabernet glass and Bordeaux glass basically feature a large, elongated and slightly narrower bowl. At a recent wine tasting held by Lucaris at the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, this design was described as better concentrating the aroma and flavor of full-bodied wine than an all-purpose glass and directing the wine to the back of the mouth.
Pinot Noir glass, often described as the Burgundy glass, has a wider, round bowl, slightly tapered on top, which helps capture the effusive aroma of Pinot and deliver the wine onto an ideal spot on the tongue, usually the tip, to get its fruity note.
Compared with red wines, whites are less sophisticated but require a cooler serving temperature to bring out their flavors. A glass with a smaller bowl stays cool better than a large bowl because of a smaller surface area.
However, Ed McCarthy, author of "Wine for Dummies," an American bestseller, says whites and glasses should be differentiated. For Chardonnay and white Burgundies, he recommends a comparatively larger bowl to demonstrate the wine's complexity. For Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Grigio, he recommends a smaller, elongated and narrower bowl to capture the wines' delicate aromas.
For sparkling wines such as Champagne, a fluted narrow glass is recommended to concentrate bouquet, and more important, to appreciate bubbles ascending in the glass.
Buying in Shanghai
Lucaris
Asian brand of lead-free wine-tasting glasses with fine-cut laser rim, notably for Bordeaux and Cabernet.
Where to buy:
New World Department Store (7/F, 2 Nanjing Rd W.)
Riedel
Known for functionally designed glasses to complement different wines, notably Pinot Noir and Syrah.
Where to buy:
ASC Wine Residence (57 Jiangyin Rd)
Baccarat
The French crystal brand produces its signature Chateau Baccarat Set, excellent for Cabernet Sauvignon.
Where to buy:
IFC (8 Century Ave)
They haven't realized that an inappropriate serving glass can spoil the beauty of a wine and, hence, the value of the bottle.
A thin, colorless glass in the appropriate shape allows full appreciation of the wine, its color, aroma and tastes.
"Pour a beautiful Pinot Noir into a short, trumpet-flared, thick-rimmed glass and it's no longer Pinot Noir. It's just red wine," writes Bill St John, wine columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
Generally, thickness, weight and shape are the three main considerations in judging a good glass.
Presuming that the glass isn't too fragile, then the thinner the glass the better and the less color the better, so the clarity of the wine itself is highlighted, according to Kirati Assakul, chairman of Ocean Glass PLC, a leading wine glass maker in Asia.
Thin, colorless, lead-free glass is recommended, clearly presenting the wine's color from the depth of the bowl to the rim, indicating age and variety. Usually a violet purple in the rim indicates a young wine, while a tawny brown edge indicates an older wine.
Although luxury glass and crystal brands, such as Waterford, are known for their elegant design and heavy-cut crystal stem, glasses of moderate weight and good balance are more suitable for daily wine tasting. Lighter glasses have a better hand-feel and are more easily swirled to elicit aromas.
Some wine experts say too much marketing fuss is made about using the precisely "right" shape for a given wine; they hold that as long as the basic shape is right, the colorless glass and relatively light-weight, then the rest is not really necessary.
However, the idea is catching on, due to efforts by Austrian brand Riedel and others designing specialized shapes to complement different wines. Now, there are glasses designed for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet and other varieties, as well as for various wine-growing regions. Lucaris, an Asian crystal brand, offers Bordeaux and Burgundy glasses.
Glass makers follow similar design rules to highlight wine character. The Cabernet glass and Bordeaux glass basically feature a large, elongated and slightly narrower bowl. At a recent wine tasting held by Lucaris at the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, this design was described as better concentrating the aroma and flavor of full-bodied wine than an all-purpose glass and directing the wine to the back of the mouth.
Pinot Noir glass, often described as the Burgundy glass, has a wider, round bowl, slightly tapered on top, which helps capture the effusive aroma of Pinot and deliver the wine onto an ideal spot on the tongue, usually the tip, to get its fruity note.
Compared with red wines, whites are less sophisticated but require a cooler serving temperature to bring out their flavors. A glass with a smaller bowl stays cool better than a large bowl because of a smaller surface area.
However, Ed McCarthy, author of "Wine for Dummies," an American bestseller, says whites and glasses should be differentiated. For Chardonnay and white Burgundies, he recommends a comparatively larger bowl to demonstrate the wine's complexity. For Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Grigio, he recommends a smaller, elongated and narrower bowl to capture the wines' delicate aromas.
For sparkling wines such as Champagne, a fluted narrow glass is recommended to concentrate bouquet, and more important, to appreciate bubbles ascending in the glass.
Buying in Shanghai
Lucaris
Asian brand of lead-free wine-tasting glasses with fine-cut laser rim, notably for Bordeaux and Cabernet.
Where to buy:
New World Department Store (7/F, 2 Nanjing Rd W.)
Riedel
Known for functionally designed glasses to complement different wines, notably Pinot Noir and Syrah.
Where to buy:
ASC Wine Residence (57 Jiangyin Rd)
Baccarat
The French crystal brand produces its signature Chateau Baccarat Set, excellent for Cabernet Sauvignon.
Where to buy:
IFC (8 Century Ave)
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