Wine Glasses 101

Life is too short to be drinking wine from the wrong glass. So, here is a little wine glass 101.

Joker glass: this glass is a restaurant staple. A sauvignon blanc loses its nose significantly while in this glass. An oak chardonnay ends up tasting like a flat wine in this glass. Faced with no other glass option for your wine of choice, the Joker glass will come in handy as simply a tool to help you drink the wine, but not really enjoy it.

Glass 2: This glass lends itself to fruity white wines. Not only is its body designed to fully take in the nose of the wine, but also enhance the taste as it’s narrow lip delivers the wine to the tip of your tongue, before anywhere else, hence giving more to your taste buds.

Glass 3: are you an oak Chardonnay lover? Well, look no further than this glass. The large bowl of a Chardonnay glass helps to balance out the oaky notes. The big surface area exposed to the air lets the wine open up to new flavours. The wide rim evenly spreads the wine across the palate, as this glass delivers its contents to the sides of the mouth, thus bringing the complexity of flavours of the wine to the fore.

Glass 4: red red wine… Due to the height of this glass, the surface area exposed to air as you swirl the wine is maximized offering adequate oxidation of the wine. The shape of the rim also directs its contents to between the roof of your mouth and the mid tongue region, the umami zone, which helps reduce the effects of tannins, improving the overall flavour. A shiraz is best for this glass.

Glass 5: a Cabernet is best with this glass. The shape directs the wine to the back of the tongue, which helps mitigate the effects of tannins, compounds that produce a mouth-drying feel. The larger bowl gives the wine more surface area, allowing it to oxidize, or breathe. Oxidizing softens the tannins found in reds, improving the overall flavor, and releases the wine’s natural aromas. This is essential, since the aromas are a large part of what you taste when drinking wine.

At the end of the day, regardless of the type of wine you prefer to imbibe, it’s best to try and elevate the experience by choosing the glass that suits the wine best. Oh, and remember to swirl, 😉

You too can get the opportunity to experience and learn first hand on how different wine glasses affect the taste of different wines.

As part of the Nairobi Wine Week and Festival 2019, Tapas Bar Westgate will be hosting a wine tasting.

Riedel Wine Tasting at Tapas Bar Westgate

Date: June 29, June 30 and July 6 2019

Time: 12 pm – 2.30pm

Venue: Tapas Ceviche Bar

Limited to 12 people per event

Offer includes presentation by professional sommelier, tasting of 5 wines, tapas food platter.

You can get your tickets from here.

The Nairobi Wine Week and Festival 2019  runs from 28th June to 7th July 2019.

Thank you EatOut and Tapas Bar Westgate for hosting us.