[Wine glasses, 280 words sample]
Becoming a world art, tasting and appreciating wine obeys certain rules, which include – of course – chosing the rignt glass for the right wine. Drinking Bourgogne in a flute ? No way ! Drinkers next to you may look at you superliciously and call you a heretic...
But the rules were not instituted at random.
Basically, the shape of the glasse conducts the wine it contains to certain precise areas of your tongue : the one which feels acidity, the other bitterness, another one sweetness. If you want to drink a Pinot or a Rhone Valley-bred wine, chose a large glass with a wide bowl, as well as for Bourgogne : for its shape supports perfectly the tannic and acidity of those dark red wines. A narrower wine shall be prefferred for the old Bordeaux, keeping all the tastes till its complex savours reach your mouth. Chose a flute for Champagne, a high glass allowing the sparles to fizz !
Red wines, large glasses. The largest the bowl, the more you will be able to make the wine spin round to release its flavours.
White wines, narrower glasses. You don't need to make a white wine whirl to appreciate it !
These are, after all, simple rules to keep in mind.
Keep in mind that a wine glass must be a footed glass, for you shall handle it without warming the liquor. Wine tasting is too a pleasure for eyes : so will your glass be transparent. Exception to the rule : glasses from Alsace, traditionally coloured green. Prefer cristal : the more the glass