Does the Type of Wine Glass Effect the "Taste" of Wine?

[Ranabhat Vijay]

Many wine tasters are adamant that an optimum glass in terms of size and dimensions exists for a particular wine type or even style. that it is absolutely imperative that the correct glass be used if maximum enjoyment is to be had. But how much of this idea has truth in fact, and how much is the result of concerted marketing efforts on the part of some glass manufacturers to effect a marketing point of difference.

Before we can answer this question in an intelligent way, we must first distinguish what is meant by "taste" in a wine. In lay-mans terms, the term "taste" encompasses a combined result of a wide variety of sensory experiences including the perception of:

1. the strength and profile of the wine’s aroma
2. the strength of the wine’s individual flavours, and the overall or combined impact
of these flavours
3. the impact of the three important basic tastes in wine; acidity, sweetness and
bitterness and,
4. the mouth-feel or tactile sensations imparted by the wine. These include amongst
other things, body, and (in red wines), astringency.

The separation of these is not just an academic exercise as for a variety of logical reasons it is likely that the size and shape of the glass should affect these to largely varying degrees.