Different glasses for different wines

Glasses definitely make a difference in the taste of a wine.  I have performed more experiments than I care to recall including serving the same wine in two different glasses, to an unsuspecting individual, and the response was clear that the individual thought they were two different wines.

So my first advice is selecting a "good" wine glass.  Through the experiments I conducted, Riedel is by far the most consistent performer (and NO, I do not work for them, nor benefit from recommending their glasses!).  Riedel has dozens of lines and styles that range in price, but I actually prefer their no-lead line called Ouverture, which is among the lowest in price.  Further, if I were to have only one glass, the Ouverture Magnum (designed for big body red wines), is a great all purpose glass for all wine (despite the design optimized for big reds).  That said, an all purpose glass will have its limitations.

You could easily go out and spend thousands of dollars on the perfect glass for each wine.  I am also confident that with each glass that is designed for a specific wine there will be nuances in the wine that will be enhanced by each glass.  However a more practical approach that I subscribe to and recommend to all my readers involves only 3 glass styles: 1 for red, 1 for white and 1 for sparkling.  Again, through numerous tests and experiments, (sometimes to the point of drinking too much!), I have found the Riedel Ouverture line to perform the best at an affordable price. 

Therefore, my recommendation is exactly what I use in both my home and for all of my tasting dinners:

• Ouverture Magnum for Red wine
• Ouverture White Wine for white
• Ouverture Champagne for sparkling

 You can find the collection at:

http://www.riedel.com/website/english/frameset/frameset.html

I hope this helps and feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions.

Cheers,

Steve

The Wine Snob

Yes and no. The main thing with a wine glass is to allow for the ability to agitate or swirl the wine. Thus releasing the volatile esters which is where the aromas come from. So a tall narrow glass is not ideal and doesn't allow for the wine to develop the more complex flavors and nuances.

 On the otherhand if you take a RIEDEL wine glass tasting course they will tell you that each wine has to have it's own glass. When I sold wine people always told me how much the right glass made a difference after taking this course. It does when you have a Riedel marketing person hovering over your shoulder suggesting stuff. In the end a great glass can't make a bad wine any better. Now while academicly this may be true the main thing professional tasters say is that they want the same glass for each wine they taste with. Thus variation is kept to a minimum. 

 If you want glasses for the house on a budget, look for large globes for most wines and a set fo narrow stems for  sparkling wines. They help keep the fizz in the wine. The large bowls/globes are for everything else and remember to only pour an ounce or two  in the glass thus allowing for plenty of room to swirl the wine.

Not true. Although different shaped glasses can add to the enjoyment. But it's impoosible to change the taste. Wine drank from a port glass tastes exactly the same as if drunk from a champage glass.