Ontario's first organic winery

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I would not have believed it had I not been part of a blind tasting.

Now, I taste a lot of wine and have some education in this area to rely on. But this was a true eye opener.

We were tasting a few red wines, blind (meaning we did not see the bottle, know the country of origin, nor the grape variety), and had 4 glasses lined up in front of each of us. What was rather strange was that one glass was bigger than the others. There is a standard (ISO) tasting glass, most students of wine use and 3 of the glasses were just that. I thought perhaps the host had run out of the standard glass and had brought out some personal stemware.

The first two wines were poured and discussed followed by the third wine which none of us liked. Basically we said it was a simple quaffer … a little red plum on the nose, dry, medium body, medium acidity, medium/dusty tannin, medium alcohol … rather boring.

Then the fourth wine was poured into that larger glass. After the last wine, we were pleasantly surprised … a bouquet of black cherry and herbs, some medicinal notes, smooth, and balanced.

The big reveal made us all gasp. It was the same wine … wine #3 but poured into a larger glass. A glass that had a bigger bowl allowing the wine to aerate and a bigger opening so our noses fit into the centre better and deeper.

When one encounters a puzzle, some research is necessary!

So, I looked into the science behind designing wine glasses beyond the claims of companies like Riedel and Zalto (all excellent stemware to be sure!).

Wine glassware should be looked at as tasting tools.  The goal of the wine glass is to balance flavours and structure while capturing aromatic nuances of varietal wines. In order to achieve this goal some science, specifically physics, comes into play.

A wine glass is basically composed of a cup (an elongated egg shape), a narrowed opening to concentrate bouquet, a stem and a base. But according to a study conducted by Margaret Cliff (2001) there is a special ratio – cup diameter to cup opening – that is vital. She found that total intensities of wine aromatics were highest in Burgundy glasses. This type of glass has a large bowl, rounded like a fish bowl, which allows for oxygen to penetrate the wine and allows for flavours to open.

Another scientific study, this time from Japan and reported in Chemistry World (2015), mapped concentration and distribution of alcohol (gaseous ethanol). It found that the inward bow of the glass rim concentrates alcohol around the rim leaving wine aromas more distinct in the centre.

Puzzle solved! The wider bowl of that large tasting glass with its wider opening (where noses fit directly into the centre) improved our appreciation of the wine.

Fun Facts:

  • large glass bowls allow for aeration which releases volatile compounds (aromatics) and softens tannins
  • smaller glass bowls keep wines cooler longer and direct our focus to acidity and freshness
  • the thinner the glass, the tastier the wine
  • crystal is stronger than plain glass (due to minerals) and can be made thinner (but not always dishwasher safe)
  • quality lead-free crystal stemware is made by Riedel, Zalto, Schott Zwiesel (with titanium for extra durability)
  • despite the claim that different varietal wines need different glasses, there is a trend toward a “universal” wine glass – Zalto Denk’ Art Universal Glass and Jancis Robinson’s new glasses, one for red and one for white
  • also trendy  – stemless wine glasses have gained popularity due to the fact that they are more stable and less prone to breaking, easy to hold, more affordable  and can double as water glasses … however, white wine warms quicker and there are those unsightly fingerprints!

 

What is your favourite wine glass? Leave us a comment.