The glass is more than just a support that helps you enjoy your favourite wine, it largely changes your experience in tasting and enjoying a wine.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many types of glasses, each for a certain type of wine or drink? It's not just a matter of aesthetics or the recommended amount of serving, but also of the way the flavours of wine are presented. In other words, only with the right type of glass, a wine can show its true value.

Because it is such an important element in tasting and enjoying a wine and any other drink, we show you below everything you need to know to choose the right glasses both when you enjoy a glass of wine and when you have guests. and you want to impress them with a book-like presentation.

Why is it important to serve wine in the right glass?

Each type and variety of wine has a different structure, and the glasses intended for them are designed in such a way as to highlight its aromas and notes as well as possible. The shape and opening of the glass play an important role in the taste of a wine.

There is no need for a study to confirm this (and there are several), the difference can be noticed even by you, tasting the same wine from a classic glass of water and a special one for it. You will notice that the taste and the whole experience are clearly superior when you taste the wine in a glass designed for its type and variety.

Once you taste the wines in the right glasses, we guarantee that you will never treat this aspect with indifference.

How do we choose the wine glass?

A first criterion is the material and its appearance. The wine must be drunk from a transparent glass without a pattern. Choose clear glass glasses and avoid coloured materials, glasses with various patterns or flat ones. The colour, the subtle nuances and the clarity are important features of a wine and you certainly do not want them to be affected by the appearance of the glass.

Another important criterion is size. A glass of wine should be large enough to allow it to rotate without spilling. The rotation facilitates the release of aromas and shows the density of the wine, as we explain in this article about wine tasting. Wine glasses usually have a capacity of about 450 millilitres, just to be able to rotate the wine in them. Usually, glasses of red wine are larger than those for white wine, and those for sweet wines are smaller.

The wine glasses should be held by the stem, not by the base and never by the bowl, because the heat of the hands will heat the wine.

The shape of the bowl differs depending on the wine, but the general rule is that it should be narrower at the top, so that when you pour the wine into the glass, the aromas are not scattering too much to the outside.

Red wine glasses

Red wine shows its true value in large glasses which have a deep, round and wide bowl, and a narrower opening than the middle of the bowl. Pour wine into the glass to the area where the diameter of the cup is largest. It should have a height of over 20 cm and a capacity of about 500 ml. Below you can see some models of red wine glasses:

White wine glasses

White wine glasses have a tulip-shaped stem, a slightly narrower neck and a smaller bowl than a red wine glass. The size is smaller than in the case of red wine glasses, because white wines are intended for serving at a lower temperature and should not be heated in the glass. Their height is over 20 cm, their capacity is about 350 ml and they must be kept to their feet in order not to overheat the wine.

Rose wine glasses

The shape of the glasses for rose wines is a combination of the two mentioned above. Because rosé wines go through a fermentation process similar to that of white wines, the use of white wine glasses for rosé wines is accepted.

The specific glasses, however, have a shorter, slightly tapered cup and sometimes a slightly flared lip to direct the drink to the tip of the tongue, where the taste buds are more sensitive to sweetness.