Everyone knows to use a goblet when drinking, which shows that many people are not completely ignorant of the choice of goblet. I once met such a thing at an Italian wine exhibition: in front of the booth of a winery in Piedmont, a man tried to try wine with a disposable plastic cup in his hand, and the result was immediately taken away by the winery owner bravely and firmly. The owner of the winery thought it was blasphemy to taste its wine with something like a disposable plastic cup, so he replaced the man with a tall glass. Tulip-shaped goblets without patterns and colors are usually the basic requirements for wine tasting.
When most people choose wine glasses, they mainly start from aesthetics and pay more attention to the color, shape, decoration and pattern of the cups. In addition to serving as drinking containers, these wine glasses can decorate the kitchen cabinets at home at most, without considering that wine glasses also have an impact on the aroma and taste of wine. This influence definitely exists. All wine tasting parties use the same wine glass to taste wine (of course, the wine glasses used for magenta wine and white wine may be different), because this is to prevent the difference in smell and taste caused by using different wine glasses. It can be seen that people have long noticed the influence of the shape and size of wine glasses on the properties of wine.
Red stands for the largest wine glass called "European Gand Jury", pink stands for ordinary dining wine glass, and brown stands for INAO standard wine glass, which is the smallest of the three wine glasses. The abscissa shows the different characteristics of wine from left to right, including bitterness, hydrocarbon, acid, hyacinthus orientalis flavor, green apple flavor, rose petal, pear and fruit flavor. As can be seen from the picture, except for the standard rice-tail wine glass, other wine glasses did not show the fragrance of green apples.
Through some research, no one now doubts the influence of the shape and size of wine glasses on the characteristics of wine. But the next problem is that if you don't use the same wine glass at different times or places, the same wine tasting results may be different, and the results of wine tasting will be doubtful, so you need a "standard tool". INAO wine glasses are designed to be "tools" for standard wine tasting.
The shape of this wine glass was determined by INAO (Institute of Origin Names) in France in 1970, and was later recognized by OIV (International Grape and Wine Organization) and became the standard wine glass used in the industry. It can be seen in many wineries' laboratories and wine schools.
The shape of rice leaf glass can ensure the concentration of aroma; His material is bright and transparent glass or crystal, so it is easy to distinguish the color of wine; The edge of the cup mouth is cut and polished, and there is no thick lip formed by direct blow molding, so that the wine can smoothly flow into the mouth of the taster. Some people criticize this kind of wine glass, saying that it is too "technical" and tends to highlight the weaknesses rather than the advantages of wine. Another disadvantage is its small size, which can only hold about two mouthfuls of wine. Although it is enough for wine tasting, it seems inappropriate for daily use.
There is also a kind of wine glass specially used for tasting wine, which I call "the choice of wine fans". These wine glasses are specially designed for different kinds of wine. Through the study of a specific variety of wine, the specific shape is tailored for its characteristics, highlighting the advantages of this variety of wine, making the aroma of wine more layered, easy to distinguish and strengthening the coordination of wine. Advanced products are made of crystal. The most striking thing about this kind of wine glass is its oversized size. A glass can hold almost a bottle of wine. The most famous wine glasses of this kind should be the Riedel brand in Austria, and the Spiegelau brand in Germany is also good.
Reidel is an ancient wine glass making family in Austria, which has been passed down from 1756 to 10 generation. Since the ninth Mr. Klaus Riddle, Riddle has been devoted to studying the influence of the shape and size of wine glasses on the aroma and taste of wine. Riedel is also the first manufacturer in the world to systematically study this issue, and has produced a series of wine glasses recognized and respected by Wine Observer and wine lovers. They think that the aroma of wine has different positions in the glass due to different densities, and the top layer is floral and fruity aroma with strong volatility and low density; The middle layer is the aroma of spices and plants, and the bottom layer is oak and wine.
Shape not only affects the aroma, but also affects the taste. Different glass shapes guide different positions in the wine inlet. In particular, the edge of the glass mouth must be cut and polished to make the wine flow into the mouth more smoothly, otherwise it will aggravate the acidity and roughness of the wine. From the picture below, we can see that when drinking, the shape of the wine flow is different between the trimmed glass and the uncut glass.
Reidel's wine glasses are good, but they are too expensive. His top sommelier series crystal wine glasses should be above RMB in 600 yuan. Vinum series crystal cups are much cheaper, only one-third of the price, but it still sounds a little crazy to spend nearly 200 yuan money on a glass. German Spiegelau wine glasses are another good choice. Their shapes and sizes are similar to those of Reid. They also have different designs for different wines. Of course the price is cheaper. Even so, a wine glass needs about 100 yuan, which is probably the budget of a whole set of wine sets in the eyes of ordinary people.
It is certainly not economical to use or taste ordinary wine and expensive wine glasses every day. Some wine glasses can satisfy your daily drinking or entertain guests. The following figure shows the recommended basic shapes of wine glasses for different types of wines, from left to right: sparkling wine, vintage champagne, sweet sparkling wine, refreshing white wine, whole body white wine, young red wine, whole body red wine, aged red wine, aged red wine and sweet wine. Think about what kind of wine you usually drink, and just choose glasses with similar shapes in supermarkets or shops. There is absolutely no need to prepare different cups for different wines.
If you plan to taste more advanced wine, then a few special "wine lovers' choices" can really add a lot of color to good wine. At this time, some Reidel or Spiegelau wine glasses will be prepared. Of course, considering the economic factors, you don't have to buy all kinds of wine glasses, just choose a few. My suggestion is (taking the Reidel brand as an example): If you like to taste red wine, there are three kinds of wine glasses. Bordeaux wine glasses are used to taste Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Burgundy wine glasses are used to taste Burgundy, Black Pi Nuo, Nebiolo and other mellow wines. Chiati wine glasses are used. If you like to taste white wine, there are two kinds of glasses: Sauvignon Blanc for tasting light to medium-bodied white wine and Riesling for tasting mellow white wine.
When choosing wine glasses, we should grasp the key points and do what we can. We don't need to buy special wine glasses for people who don't drink often, which can increase the fun of wine tasting and save money relatively. It is really interesting to have the opportunity to understand the design process of a specific wine glass and deepen the understanding of wine tasting from another side.