Wines and SpiritsBest Designs of Wine Glass
Riedel Crystal has developed a special tasting glass. The glass is made to have a small amount of wine poured into it, and then to be tipped on its side and rolled across a flat surface to coat its inside surface with wine. An elegant dinner party, where a different wine accompanies each course, is enhanced with a table setting that includes a wine glass for each wine. The glasses should be arranged in the order they are to be used and right to left. Wine is traditionally poured from the right, while food is served from the left.
The food being served will dictate the choice of wine, but you will most likely begin with tall-stemmed hock glasses for whites and progress to wine goblets for reds then use a smaller glass for aperitifs. A matching water glass is an elegant touch. Read my article and many guest articles on food and wine pairing for suggestions on choosing the appropriate wine for a particular dish.
Be sure not to fill a wine glass too full, one third to one half full at the most. You want to leave room to capture the bouquet in the upper bowl as it rises from the swirled wine, and to allow the glass to be tilted at approximately a forty-five degree angle to evaluate and enjoy the color of the wine.
The wine glass stem gives you something to hold onto without warming the wine with your body heat. If the wine happens to be served too cold, cupping the bowl in your hand is an easy way to quickly warm it up. Brandy snifters are designed specifically for this technique so that the gentle warming of your hand can coax out even more of the aroma that is nearly equal in importance to taste in the enjoyment of brandy. For more information www.etabletop.com