Not everyone knows how to choose the right wine glass, how to wash it or how to set it on the table. There are many different wines, and each one needs its own type of glass.
Wine glasses are stemware: a stem and a cup. Hold the glass by the stem, so you don't soil the cup with your fingers, and — more important — you don't warm up the wine with the heat of your hand. The glass should be perfectly transparent and thin, preferably uncolored.
Care
How to wash and store wine glasses
Glasses must stay odorless, so it's best not to use a strongly scented dish soap, and to rinse thoroughly. Keep the glasses away from places with bad odors, and if in doubt, wash them by hand with soap before setting them on the table.
The shapes
The four types of wine glass
There are 4 main wine glasses:
- the tulip-shaped glass, for white wine or young red wine;
- the important red wine glass, with a balloon-shaped cup;
- the flûte for sparkling wines, long and narrow;
- the small tulip glass for dessert wines.
At the table
How to set a table
The glasses on the table should be placed from left to right in the order they will be used: on the far right the tulip-shaped glass for whites, on the far left the tulip-shaped glass for dessert wine. When the wine list for your meal is very long, it's better to use a pitcher, so guests can empty their glasses before the next wine is poured. To avoid mix-ups, use a cup shaped like a water glass, with no stem, for water. Keep this page handy: every fan of wine will want to set the table this way.
