The right glassware

If you've ever wondered why there are so many different glass shapes for wine, the secret's all to do with the tasting experience.  Because there are so many different styles of wine, the best way to enhance the taste is to choose a glass that really shows it off in the best way.  Here's a quick guide to the main styles of glassware to make sure you have the right one for the job:

  1. CHAMPAGNE GLASSES

    The bubbles in champagne are important to the taste as they release carbon dioxide which activates your mouth's sensory receptors. There are 3 main glasses to choose from: the coupe - a shallow and wide glass that allows the bubbles to rise quickly, the flute - a tall and slender shaped glass that keeps your bubbly colder for longer and slows down the loss of bubbles and the tulip - similar to the flute, but with a greater bowl space and tapered top to get the bubbles to hit your tongue in the right places.

  2. RED WINE GLASSWARE

    Red wine glasses usually have larger, wider bowls to bring more oxygen into contact with the wine. Full bodied wines like Shiraz or Syrah work well in slightly smaller glasses with a rim that tapers inwards from the bowl, while Cabernet or Merlot glasses have an average-length stem, wide base and a large bowl that tapers slightly at the top. Lighter bodied wines like Pinot Noir do well in a glass with a wide, large bowl and shorter stem than other glasses, and can have a turned out rim.

  3. WHITE WINE GLASSWARE

    White wines are usually served in glasses with a smaller bowl to keep them cooler and to preserve their floral aromas.  There are essentially two main styles of white wine glasses: those that are slightly taller with a large bowl that suit light-bodied white wines, while the larger bowled white wine glasses with a wide mouth work best with full bodied white wines