Ever Wonder? Should You Rinse a Wine Glass with Water When Switching Wines?

I was recently enjoying a glass of white wine and, when finished, asked to switch to a glass of red. The host said “Oh, let me rinse that glass for you first.” I stated that it was not necessary, but he insisted that he ‘freshen’ my glass.

While this is no great wine faux pas, this isn’t generally helpful. Let’s look at a couple of reasons why.

First, when switching from one wine to another, if you rinse a wine glass with water, you might actually leave enough water in the glass to slightly dilute the incoming wine. Again, not generally a big deal, but if you are using a small glass or being served ‘just a taste’ then any residual water in the glass could affect the taste of the wine.

And, speaking of the taste of the wine, it’s also possible that other harsh flavors from the water, including chlorine, could also affect the aromas and flavors of a wine.

So, if you are transitioning from white wine to a red wine, its’ probably not necessary to do any rinsing of the glass in between. But, if you are moving from a red wine to a white wine, you should probably just pour a splash of the white wine in your glass, twirl it around and dump it. This will remove enough of the red wine color from the glass so that you don’t end up with a rosé colored glass of white wine.

Rinsing with a splash of wine is another way to clear any sediment from the bottom of a wine glass or to clear any off-flavors of a flawed wine.

Swirling a splash of wine in your glass and then dumping it is also a good idea if you’ve just removed the wine glass from the dishwasher or off the shelf to remove any soap residue or dust.

So, skip the water rinse of your wine glass so that you get the greatest enjoyment of that next glass of wine. Cheers!

Ever Wonder? What is the Right Amount of Wine to Pour into a Glass?

Well, first let me start by saying you can never have too much wine, right? While that may be true, you can actually have too much wine in your glass. Pouring the ‘right’ amount of wine into a wine glass can actually enhance your enjoyment of the wine.

While we taste with our tongue, it only provides us with a limited amount of information. If you’ve ever tried eating something (like a slice of orange) while holding your nose closed, you’ll know that food has limited flavor when you don’t include the food smells or aromas that enter through your nose.

This is true with wines. While our tongues can only detect the basic tastes (sweet, salt, bitter and sour), our nose is capable of detecting thousands of aromas. Put another way, taste refers to what’s going on inside our mouth including our tongue. But, aromas are detected inside our noses and relates specifically to our sense of smell. Put them both together and you get flavor!

Now, this is where the wine glass comes in. If you fill your wine glass to the top, as shown in the picture, and take a sip, you’ll certainly get taste on your tongue and a bit of aroma as the glass approaches your mouth. But, if instead you fill the glass just about one-third full, just to the point where the glass is at its widest point, you’ll leave the upper two-thirds for the aromas. And, by giving your glass a slight swirl (yes, wine drinkers swirl for a reason!), you’ll release even more aromas into the bowl of your wine glass. Then, when the wine glass approaches your mouth, take a sniff and then a sip. The wine will then have even more flavor.

This is a simple yet very effective trick to get even more enjoyment out of a glass of wine. Cheers!

Ever Wonder? Why Do People Hold their Wine Glass by the Base?

The first time that I saw someone holding their wine glass by the base I assumed they were a real wine snob. Now, maybe they were a wine snob, but there actually is a good reason for holding a wine glass by the base.

Wine etiquette usually dictates that you should always hold your glass of wine by the stem and not by the bowl. This keeps your hands off the bowl and avoids smudges and marks that could otherwise detract from the appearance of the glass.

But, if you happen to own very fine wine glasses or get served from a very fine wine glass you’ll find that the stem can actually be quite narrow and even potentially brittle. It’s in this situation that holding your wine glass by the base, or foot, is recommended. You’d really hate to be holding an ultra-high-end glass by the stem and find that the small amount of pressure you put on it causes it to snaps. Embarrassing, costly and potentially hazardous to your hand!

So, holding a wine glass by the stem is usually the proper thing to do. But holding an extremely delicate wine glass by the base is actually the practical thing to do. Cheers!