The festive season is drawing near and you’re preparing for all the excitement that comes with it….from the lights to the food and the parties. And because Christmas is a time to get together with family and friends, you’ve slipped into planning mode to ensure that everything is in perfect order to welcome your guests. Your menu is all set, the DJ is confirmed, your decor is on point. But there’s one final thing you need to do….ensure you have the right stemware!
For most of us, there’s something about the festive season that makes gathering an incomplete experience without a few glasses of wine. Whether it’s your favourite Rioja or the perfect Pinot, whichever grape varietal you usually opt for, finding the right stemware to enhance its flavours is imperative. In fact, the wine connoisseurs on your guest list will tell you that the enjoyment of aroma, taste, texture and finish of a wine, is maximised by using the right wine tool. On that note, let’s talk glasses.
The first rule for choosing any wine glass is that you want to choose a glass that is unadorned. Yes, glasses that are clear and smooth will allow you to fully appreciate the wine’s color, so shy away from using those that are etched or painted on coloured. However, if you want to help your guests remember which glass is theirs, you may consider decorating the stem of the glass with a pretty or whimsical glass charm.
Red wine and holidays are a perfect fit; it has become a favourite especially now that we can justify its consumption with the purported health benefits. Glasses of red wine tend to be somewhat larger than for white in order to maximise their rich and complex aromas. Be sure to choose a glass that is large enough to aerate your wine, or to allow its greatest exposure to air. But for wines of the Bordeaux family, look for a shape that narrows at the rim so your glass will capture the wine’s bouquet. A general rule of thumb is that if the wine touches your nose, you’re in too deep and your glass too big.
White wine glasses are generally smaller than those for red wines because there’s less of a need to aerate the wine to bring out the flavours and important because you want to ensure that your
the white wine retains its chill. If however, you’re serving an un-oaked Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling or Gewürztraminer, you should look for a glass with a somewhat narrower bowl. Mind you, you still want a smaller glass as these fresh wines need little exposure to air to bring our flavours, but the narrower bowl helps to accentuate more subtle aromas and flavours.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #5 November-December 2017
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The festive season is drawing near and you’re preparing for all the excitement that comes with it….from the lights to the food and the parties. And because Christmas is a time to get together with family and friends, you’ve slipped into planning mode to ensure that everything is in perfect order to welcome your guests. Your menu is all set, the DJ is confirmed, your decor is on point. But there’s one final thing you need to do….ensure you have the right stemware!
For most of us, there’s something about the festive season that makes gathering an incomplete experience without a few glasses of wine. Whether it’s your favourite Rioja or the perfect Pinot, whichever grape varietal you usually opt for, finding the right stemware to enhance its flavours is imperative. In fact, the wine connoisseurs on your guest list will tell you that the enjoyment of aroma, taste, texture and finish of a wine, is maximised by using the right wine tool. On that note, let’s talk glasses.
The first rule for choosing any wine glass is that you want to choose a glass that is unadorned. Yes, glasses that are clear and smooth will allow you to fully appreciate the wine’s color, so shy away from using those that are etched or painted on coloured. However, if you want to help your guests remember which glass is theirs, you may consider decorating the stem of the glass with a pretty or whimsical glass charm.
Red wine and holidays are a perfect fit; it has become a favourite especially now that we can justify its consumption with the purported health benefits. Glasses of red wine tend to be somewhat larger than for white in order to maximise their rich and complex aromas. Be sure to choose a glass that is large enough to aerate your wine, or to allow its greatest exposure to air. But for wines of the Bordeaux family, look for a shape that narrows at the rim so your glass will capture the wine’s bouquet. A general rule of thumb is that if the wine touches your nose, you’re in too deep and your glass too big.
White wine glasses are generally smaller than those for red wines because there’s less of a need to aerate the wine to bring out the flavours and important because you want to ensure that your
the white wine retains its chill. If however, you’re serving an un-oaked Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling or Gewürztraminer, you should look for a glass with a somewhat narrower bowl. Mind you, you still want a smaller glass as these fresh wines need little exposure to air to bring our flavours, but the narrower bowl helps to accentuate more subtle aromas and flavours.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #5 November-December 2017
Share this post: