Do you believe wine glasses make a difference to the tasting experience?

KATE ALLEN

Picture this scenario: you’re on holiday with your best friends. A beach view. It’s dusk. Someone gives you a cool vermentino in a tumbler. Delicious. The best wine you’ve had for yonks. All those other factors have had an effect to create a wonderful tasting experience. I probably wouldn’t want a Corton-Charlemagne or Brunello di Montalcino in a tumbler, but if that’s the only option, so be it. As to enhancing wine, I’ve been involved in disparate tasting exercises with glassware and there seem to be subtle differences, particularly with aromatics. While there’s a lot of marketing hype with glasses designed for every wine or style, you’d need a warehouse to stock them all. Don’t bother. Ultimately, it’s the wine that counts. Glassware is also about aesthetics; that affects the tasting experience. I’m a sucker. I like beautiful glasses. It’s worth investing in one decent stem that can be used across a range of wines. You don’t need to buy the most expensive. For example,

I need to standardise my tastings so I use the Riedel Ouverture magnum. It’s a very good allrounder and most Australian wine shows have also adopted it. If you drink a lot of fizz, it’s worth considering appropriate stemware. No, not flutes. They were the stupidest design. Ever. My nose isn’t particularly big, but it still got in the way. Champagne glasses have been redesigned for the better. There are many brands on the market, the biggest is Riedel, who also own Spiegelau, there’s also Plumm, high-end Zalto and Jancis Robinson, which are particularly lovely, but expensive.