Yes, the Wine Glass You Use Really Does Matter

Wine is rarely just about what’s in the bottle. From grape variety to fermentation vessel, from serving temperature to—yes—the glass itself, every choice shapes the experience. Historically, people have imbibed wine from vessels made of many different materials, including clay, horn, metal, and glass, the latter of which has been part of the story far longer than most people realize. Understanding how it came to reign supreme today, and why shape and material actually matter, requires a quick look at how we got here.

terracotta kylix

A Quick History of the Wine Glass

Yes, many cultures historically drank wine out of clay vessels. From Hittite pottery to the Greek kantharos, clay cups were widespread. Horns, wine skins, and even carved bone have all also featured in wine drinking throughout the ages.

Glass wine glasses, though, are not a modern invention. They first appeared around 1500 BC in Egypt. As complicated as glass production may be now, making glass in that era was even more difficult. Glasses didn’t catch on until Romans learned how to blow glass, leading to glass being more easily available.

The fall of the Roman Empire led to a decline in glass production. Metal chalices became de rigueur, especially in Europe. Far more durable than glass or clay, yes. But, probably already not so fantastic medieval wine wasn’t helped by the metallic flavor chalices imparted, leading to a return in glass production.

leather wineskin - Wikimedia Commons

But Why Glass?

Today, few people use horns, clay, or metal for drinking wine, unless they’re trying to recreate an ancient feast! While metal wine glasses (and I do mean wine glasses, not fancy chalices) are still easily available, they remain a novelty. Disposable plastic or acrylic wine glasses are pretty common. While they’re not something I reach for, they have their place, usually alongside wine that isn’t going to suffer from being drunk out of them.

Then there are the people who drink wine out of coffee mugs. But we’re not friends with those people.

If you want to go even deeper into the weeds of what you should be using to drink wine, there’s also the glass versus crystal debate. Glass is more durable, generally dishwasher-friendly, and less expensive. Crystal, on the other hand, is more expensive, often requires hand washing, and is more fragile. However, it’s thinner, refracts light (i.e., it’s prettier), and does not have a lip on the rim the way glass typically does.

Given the expense, lack of durability, and being a pain to clean, why then has glass (or crystal) become the desired material for wine glasses? Sure, there are all sorts of reasons that come down to it being more aesthetically pleasing. But, there are two very valid sciency reasons:

1. Glass doesn’t absorb flavors and aromas as plastic does. Think about your Tupperware. Even careful washing leaves behind color stains and aromas from previous foods. Do you really want that for your wine?

2. The shape and the thinness of the rim affect how the wine tastes.

Yes, Shape Does Matter

Yes, it really is true that the shape of the wine glass affects how wine tastes. While you’ll mostly read that on retailer websites and feel justifiably suspicious of the claim, there actually is science involved.

Try this at home (no fancy glasses needed!): sip wine out of a drinking cup, the shudder-inducing coffee mug, and whatever wine glass you have. Think about how the wine tastes, but also take notice of how much wine you get into your mouth and where the wine hits your tongue.

A cup or glass’s shape determines how much liquid you get per sip: a fairly large amount with a drinking cup, the same or a bit less with the mug, and a more controlled amount with a wine glass. More wine does not mean more flavor.

Different parts of your tongue tend to have extra sensitivity to different flavors: sweetness at the tip, acidity along the sides, and bitterness at the back. So, the shape of the glass's rim directs liquid to hit specific areas of the tongue first, changing your initial impression of the wine.

• A narrow rim directs the wine, while a wider rim spreads it around broadly. Going back to the note above about crystal not having a lip on the rim, this allows wine to flow smoothly into your mouth. That lip acts kind of like a speed bump and disperses wine more broadly around the palate.

• The size and shape of the bowl don’t only mean how much wine a glass can hold. It determines how much contact wine has with air. This is also why one shouldn’t fill a glass more than one-third full, or to where the bowl is widest. From the widest point, bowls are then usually tapered to help capture and direct aromas to your nose.

• Tapered rims also have the advantage of more easily keeping wine in the glass when you swirl, mitigating any embarrassing splashes!

All that said…not even the most expensive glass can make bad wine taste better. But for good and great wine, the right glass can help you experience the wine's fullest potential.

So Many Choices

Let’s say you’re now utterly convinced that material and shape truly matter, and, because you want to make sure your wine is drinking as perfectly as possible, how do you begin to choose? The options for shape, some of which are variety-specific, size, and producers, can be overwhelming!

Unless your funds are unlimited or, like me, you just can’t resist buying new glassware, investing in high-quality universal glasses is your best first step. And yes, that is the name of a glass created to be universally good regardless of the wine you’re pouring.

That long evolution, from clay and metal to carefully shaped glass, has always been driven by craftsmanship: people figuring out how to make wine taste, smell, and feel just a little bit better in the hand. A true convergence of history and science!

Since you’re already here and interested, one assumes, in Turkish wine… why not complement the wine with Turkish stemware?

Get the full Turkish wine experience by drinking some of the country’s highest quality wines out of its highest quality glasses!

Check out a lovely range of Turkish stemware, including Paşabahçe’s blown crystal Stem Zero Vertigo, Fantasy, Vinifera, and Stem Zero Volcano, at the Fine Turkish Wine Bottle Shop + Tasting Room, located in Houston's Montrose District at 1909 Dunlavy Street.

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Andrea Lemieux is an international wine expert with particular expertise in Turkish Wine. She is the author of The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine, the world's only comprehensive English language book on Turkish wine. She is also the author of The Quick and Dirty Guide to Greek Wine and the founder of The Quirky Cork blog which is dedicated largely to Turkish wine.