What Wine Glasses Do I Need? (Answered)
If you’re stuck on the age-old question of what wine glasses do I need, you likely want something worth while but not crazy expensive. Hopefully, this post will help you find some quality (and well-priced glasses)!
Finding the right wine glasses can be tricky, so I did a little research. The wine glasses you need are usually matched to the type of wine you are drinking, however, if you had to limit your choice to only 3 styles look at a White Wine Glass, a Burgundy Glass and a Sparkling Flute as these will meet almost all your wine drinking needs.
Let’s find out more!
Non alcoholic wine really benefits from the right wine glass choice given the flavour profiles are a little different to traditional alcoholic wine.
So you’ve opened a new bottle of Funky Monkey Pinot, Win.e Verdejo; or De La Tautila Rose and now its time to pick the glass that will let you enjoy it best!
If that sounds like you, good news take a look at the tabled recommendations and full detail below.
What Wine Glasses Should I use?
| The Wine Glass. | Main Types of Wine. | Glasses to consider. |
| The Universal Glass |
|
Fawler Universal Wine Glasses and Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal |
| The White Wine Glass |
|
Krosno Harmony Wine Glass 370ML |
| The Bordeaux Wine Glass |
|
Krosno Avant-Garde Wine Glass 460ML |
| The Burgundy Wine Glass |
|
Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Glass |
| The Specialty Wine Glass |
|
Luigi Bormioli Champagne Flute and Dartington Crystal Dessert Wine Glasses |
So now you have the high-level idea of what wine glasses to use let’s find you some new glassware (you only need a few!) that will help you find blackberries, butterscotch, tobacco leaves or vanilla in your glass – the sky’s the limit!
Let’s dive into the most popular types of wine glasses and how you can make them work for you in your next glass of alcohol-free wine.
1. The Universal Glass
Most wine glass brands offer a universal wine glass that’s not too large nor too small; it’s perfect for enjoying both red and white wines — think the type of wine glass that you find at restaurants!
These glasses usually have a u-shaped bowl, and given this type of glass is all about being easy to use, you’ll even find stemless versions and in all shapes and sizes.
Tips:
- This type of wine glass is will do for non alcoholic wines that fall into the young reds, whites and rosé (read all about the profile of what makes up an amazing Rosé) categories.
- Make sure your universal wine glass is made of crystal and not glass, which is sturdier and less refined.
- This type of wine glass might be too small for more complex and sophisticated non-alcoholic wines.
Pro tip: If you were wondering how to hold wine glasses, hold them by the stem and never from the bowl. Holding the wine glass from the bowl might cause your palm’s warmth to heat the wine to less than optimal temperatures.
2. The White Wine Glass
What is a white wine glass?
The white wine glass is not too different to the standard universal glass, but it’s usually a little smaller.
Like we touched on above, the u-shaped bowl might be a bit narrower as well, which means these will often have a smaller capacity.
If you’re looking for a do-it-all white wine glass for your:
- Giesen Sauvignon Blanc (Read the Review here);
- Win-e Verdejo (read the Review here); and
- Funky Monkey Chardonnay (find out more about Funky Monkey).
you can use a universal wine glass that you just saw in point 1 for all your white wine needs, but it’s also nice to have specialized stemware for the refreshing and thirst-quenching category.
When should I use a white wine glass?
Use a white wine glass for fresh and fruity wines designed to be enjoyed young and slightly chilled. These include:
- Pinot Grigio;
- Sauvignon Blanc;
- Unoaked Chardonnay;
- Albariño;
- Chenin Blanc;
- Riesling; and
- Vermentino.
Pro Tip: Use these white wine glasses to enjoy white wine that hasn’t spent time in oak barrels.
3. The Cabernet/Bordeaux Wine Glass
What is a Cabernet or Bordeaux wine glass?
Some red wines are big, bold and robust. These wines usually spend time in oak barrels and are age pretty well.
For these wines, you’ll need a bigger wine glass. When you’re searching for this glass it is usually called a Cabernet or Bordeaux glass.
The chimney-like bowl and larger capacity allow you to swirl the complex wine, letting it unfold nicely. Swirling wine is a topic for another day – but if you’re new to swirling, my first and foremost tip is dont. wear. white!
Did you know you can pour an entire bottle of wine in some of these wine glasses? That’s 740ml! Sure it’s alcohol free but be chill, pour a glass at a time!
When should I use a Cabernet or Bordeaux wine glass?
Like you saw in the table at the top, use a Cabernet or Bordeaux wine glass to enjoy:
- Cabernet-Merlot Blends;
- Syrah;
- Tempranillo (find out all about the De La Tautila Tempranillo here);
- Sangiovese;
- Malbec; and
- other sturdy red wines.
Pro Tip: The types of wine glasses matter. But the wine’s temperature is much more important! Enjoy white wine between 4°C -10°C (that’s 39°F – 50°F for our USA based friends) and red wine between 10°C – 16°C (50°F – 60°F). This means you might need to chill your reds ever so slightly!
4. The Burgundy Glass
What is a Burgundy wine glass?
Burgundy is a French wine region specializing in some of the most amazingly elegant Pinot Noir and Full-bodied Chardonnay. So much so they named a wine glass after it!
So for these types of wine, you want to use a Burgundy glass.
Burgundy wine glasses come in a range of sizes, be it – big or small, but they always have a fish bowl-shaped bowl that captures Pinot and oak-aged Chardonnay’s subtle aromas.
The big bowl allows a larger surface for the wine to be in contact with air. This means as the wine reacts with the air it starts to ‘open up’ and release its natural aromas and your nose and your taste buds get the benefit of a more vibrant aromatic profile.
When should I use a Burgundy wine glass?
Use this type of wine glass for:
- Pinot Noir;
- Gamay;
- Chardonnay (Oaked);
- Grenache;
- Nebbiolo; and
- other thin-skinned varietals.
5. Specialty Wine Glasses
There are dozens of other types of wine glasses. In fact, some producers make unique and special stemware for each grape and wine style.
Although collecting them all is fun – thankfully you don’t need to rush out and buy extra glasses beyond those for sparkling wine.
But if you feel like treating yourself let’s dive into a few styles!
When should I use Specialty wine glasses?
Like you just saw above, specialty wine glasses should, at least in the form of a flute for sparkling wine form part of your collection!
The beauty of sparkling wine glasses is that they are designed to showcase the beautiful streams of bubbles finding their way to the surface.
While not entirely necessary, a nice touch to treat yourself is picking up a special glass for sweet wine too. These are often smaller glasses (as you often serve dessert wine a few ounces at a time).
Last but not least, there are the wine glasses designed to catch, hold on to and display fortified wines’ intense aroma in all its glory — these glasses are often called aroma collectors and are better suited for sweeter wines.
Collect Them All!
There you have it! These are the most common types of wine glasses, the different wine glasses and their uses.
The bottom line?
- Buy a few wine glasses for everyday enjoyment; and
- Have a few specialty wine glasses for special occasions.
Remember, it’s your wine which means it’s your rules!
You’ll find immense pleasure in putting together your stemware/wine glass collection!
If you’re looking for wine reviews and other resources, browse around over on the Wine reviews website and hop over to the Podcast as well!
