Dan's Papers - September 21, 2007 - Vessels for Your Vino

If you've ever sauntered into a very chi-chi Hamptons home and happened upon the bar (or if you happen to own a very chi-chi Hamptons home and designed such a bar) you may have noticed the wide array of glassware. Now, my affinity for alcohol grows with each passing day. I starts out sluggin' from the box o' wine, but today I am proud to say I know when a wine is "oaky" and my taste buds are honed to pick up on the tannins. Am I dazzling you with my aficionado vocabulary? Well, either way, prepare to be undazzled. Because when I stride up to the liquor cabinet and my classy friend tells me to grab a couple of Bordeaux glasses, I look at the dozens of glittering crystal stems and have absolutely no idea which one to grab. Thus, a lesson.

There are four different kinds of essential wine glasses in any connossieur's cabinet: an all-purpose glass will cover all whites from a buttery Chardonnay to a dry Riesling. The white wine glass is the smallest. This is due to the fact that white wine is usually served cold, and if your glass is too large, then the wine will get warm while you're drinking it (unless you're chugging, which presumably you're not). The second glass you must have is a champagne flute, because there's nothing less sophisticated than drinking champagne out of a wine glass. The champagne flute is tall and thin, because this allows the bubbles to develop to their fullest robustness before fizzing fancily all over your manicured fingertips.

Now the third and fourth necessities in your wine glass cache are a little bit more difficult to discern. They are both red wine glasses. One is called the Burgundy, and the other, the Bordeaux. The Burgundy is the largest glass, and it's absolutely lovely. In fact, I am always tempted to use the Burgundy glass just because I love how the wine splashes up the sides, leaving its leggy reminder clinging to the sides. But to use the Burgundy glass for all red wines- it would be wrong. The Burgundy glass is used only for the more subtle red wines. The delicate flavors of Pinot Noir and Rioja are ideal for these wide mouthed glasses because the larger surface area gives them the space they need to "gather their aromas," says New York Magazine. The Bordeaux glass, larger than the white glass but smaller than the Burgundy, is delegated to heartier, stronger red wines like cabernet, merlot, and of course its namesake, Bordeaux. Because these wines have stronger flavors, they do not need as much surface area to breathe. The Bordeaux glass is just large enough to allow the pungent bouquet to develop.

So you now know the basics when it comes to wine glasses. These are, according to true wine aficionados, the absolute essentials. But beware: once you get started, you could end up collecting dozens more types of glasses, each specifically designed to complement a certain wine. The first person who really built a business on people's quest for the perfect glass of wine was Austrian glassmaker Claus Riedel. According to Robert M Parker, Jr of the Wine Advocate, "The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make." The Riedel family has been making glass for 11 generations, and is still considered at the forefront of wine class engineering.

It helps to know what kind of glass you "should" be using with what kind of wine, and it's interesting to learn that there are actually reasons behind all this etiquette. But when it comes down to it, the most important thing is the company with whom you enjoy that glass of wine. And if you slip up and reach for Bordeaux glass when filling up your Pinot Noir, t hopefully the people you're with won't cast their noses down at you. If they do, then simply take the bottle straight to your lips and down the whole thing. That'll learn 'em.