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Welcome back to Winoledge June 2005. This
edition is mainly targeted towards one of the
most
important , and elegant aspects of wine drinking.
Glassware.
Lets run through the basics of glassware
guidelines.
Ever wondered why red wine is not drunk in a
Tulip, , not to mention the injustice to the drink you would primarily look
like a goose.
Wine varieties are cultured over a vast
spectrum of styles , this explains the sharp differences of final products
that land up in all the cellars around the world. Each product is special
so, you must be fair to each beverage by not generalising the consumption
style or glassware. Generic or Varietals, Region or Age, Alcohol Strength
or wine type, each individual product is worth its own style of glassware.
Bubbles or Sparkling wine (bubbles is a
casual term used to describe sparkling wines). Sparkling wines contain
carbon dioxide , which is so high in proportionate quantity that some times
the pressure while the bottle is intact can reach up to 80 pounds or even
higher per inch. No surprise that not only sparkling wines are bottled in
thicker glassed bottles but also each bottle ( apart from the mini sized
ones) has a deep depression called ‘Punt’ . This depression helps in
balancing the inner pressure to provide stability to the bottle. To add to
the elegance , Punts are used in serving a standard sized champagne bottle
as a mark of high quality serving style. The use of Punts adds the verve to
make the final service even more exquisite. Champagnes are mainly served
in three types of glasses
Champagne Flute: The most common style
of champagne service . Covers occasions like wedding, romantic dinners ,
honey moon . This type of glass is styled on a long stem with the elongated
glass bulb tapering to wards the top. This style of glass helps in
conserving the bubbles while still letting it go.
Champagnes Tulips.: Very closely styled
to Tulips, they wave on the bulb surface and just don’t taper too much
towards the top. Tulips are getting more on the old school classic style of
wine drinking. Nowadays infact Tulips and Flutes are overlapping in style
and sometimes get too similar to differentiate. Both Tulip and Flute
conserve the effervescence of the beverage more than the traditional saucers
and champagne glasses. Also used in formal parties and corporate wine
drinking culture
Champagne Saucer: Traditional, and the
most classic of all Champagne glass styles. Legends have it that saucer
derived its form from the left breast of Marie Antoinette. Used to
celebrate and raise toasts.
White wine Glass.: Medium sized stemmed
glass with almost equal bulb and stem length. These wine glasses must be
held by stem while drinking or holding. The temperature from the fingers
must not be allowed to affect the beverage temperature. Glass being a slow
conductor of heat, sparkling wine glasses and white wine glasses (
Exceptions are the modern sparkling reds as well), should always be held
with their stem. White wine glasses must be filled in upto 2/3rd
while serving.
Red wine glasses: Glasses with
slightly longer bulbs in proportion to their stems, they are overall larger
than white wine glasses. It can be held on stems or even with bulb. Reds
must be filled in 3/4th of the glass. The extra space gives the
convenience in swirling the drink to release its bouquet.
Fortified wines ( Wines with additional
brandy added to increase shelf life and increase alcohol strength.) are
had less in quantities due to high alcohol content thus wines like Port,
Sherry and other fortified wines are served in smaller glasses with much
smaller bulbs.
You must be wondering why the measurements
have eluded this write up altogether and it is for the simple reason that I
feel Oenology (study of wines) is not a perfect science. While guidelines
must be adhered to, the beauty of wines, its taste, elegance and flavour,
none can be measured but only experienced.
So make sure you don’t look a goose ever again
and have a fantastic month of June.
Cheers!
Yogeesh
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