5-MINUTE WINE EXPERT PART 3: GLASSWARE wi h Ka e Hawkings

Get the most out of what you’re drinking with our monthly crash course in wine. Next up, discover why picking the right glass makes all the difference

The one single thing you can do to maximise the pleasure of your wine is to drink it from a decent glass. Do this simple experiment: take a tall, straightsided glass and a tulip-shaped wine glass that tapers towards the top. Pour a little wine into each, no more than one third full, then swirl it around and sniff deeply from each glass.

The smell of the wine in the straight glass will be muted and flat while that in the tulip glass will be much more open and expressive. Swirling it in the rounded bowl releases flavour and aroma compounds into the bulbous space above which are funnelled to your nose by the narrowing of the glass. Then taste the wine: the straight glass will direct it down the middle of your tongue, whereas the rounded sides of the wine glass allow it to coat the sides and the roof of your mouth better, maximising exposure to flavour receptors. For sparkling wines, flutes help hold the bubbles in the glass but their narrow top impedes the expression of aromas, while modish coupettes let both dissipate quickly, so a tulip shape is best for these, too. Stems on glasses are not essential but they prevent the warmth from your hand raising the temperature of the wine. Some wine glasses are very much better than others. The hand-blown Zalto Universals are highly favoured, though their fine stems can induce high blood pressure when polishing; the copycat machine-made Gabriel-Glas is more affordable and sturdy. I prefer the Jancis Robinson/Richard Brendon collaboration – a glass to suit any wine that can fit in a dishwasher, and with a fine rim to ease the passage of wine to your mouth. For everyday drinking, Ikea’s Storsint wine glasses serve their purpose very well and, at £13 for six, if they do smash it won’t break the bank.