Many wine tasters are decided that an optimum glass in terms of size and volume exists for a certain types of wine 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 define what is meant by "taste" in a wine. In lay-mans terms, the term "taste" encompasses a combined result of a broad variety of sensory experiences including the perception of:
1. the strength and profile of the wine%u2019s aroma
2. the strength of the wine%u2019s individual flavors, and the overall or combined impact
of these flavors
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.
Despite these strong beliefs about the importance of glass shape, little scientific research has been conducted in this area, but two recent reports have thrown some light on the effect of glass type on the aroma of wines.
The role of the Church in the production and marketing of Type Of Wine declined with the Reformation, particularly in northern Europe, but this did not convulse the wine world half as much as the discovery of the usefulness of corks about a century later. For the first time since the Roman empire, wine could now be stored and aged in bottles. Throughout the Middle Ages wine had been kept in casks which had presented a dual handicap: first, too long kept in wood could rob a wine of all its fruit; second, once the cask was opened the wine inevitably deteriorated unless drunk within a few days. The bottle, with its smaller capacity, solved the former problem by providing a neutral, non-porous material which allowed wine to age in a different subtler way and removed the latter problem by providing sealed containers of a manageable size for a single session's drinking.
However, the cork and bottle revolution was not an instant success; bottles were then so bulbous they would only stand upright which meant the corks eventually dried out and as a consequence let in air. But, by the mid 18th century, longer, flat-sided bottles were designed which would lie down, their corks kept moist by contact with the wine. As a result wine making now took on a new dimension. It became worthwhile for a winemaker to try and excel, wines from particular plots of land could be compared for their qualities, and the most exciting could be classified and separated from the more mundane plot wines. As a result today's great names of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhine first began to be noticed.
In the early 19th century, Europe seemed one massive vineyard. In Italy 80% of people were earning their living from wine and in France there were vast plantings rolling southwards from Paris. Also the vine had moved abroad thanks to explorers, colonists and missionaries. It went to Latin America with the Spaniards, South Africa with French Huguenots, and to Australia with the British. Could anything stop this tide of wine expansion?
Well, yes and it came in the form of an aphid called phylloxera, that fed on and destroyed vine roots. It came from America in the 1860's, and by the early 20th century, had destroyed all Europe's vineyards and most of the rest of the world's as well. The solution was to graft the vulnerable European vine, vitis vinifera, onto the phylloxera-resistant American rootstock, vitis riparia, naturally a very expensive effort. The most immediate effect in Europe was that only the best sites were replanted and the total area under vines shrank drastically as a result. Elsewhere the havoc wrought was comparable and vineyard acreage is only now expanding to old original sites destroyed over a century ago.
The 20th century brought more change as science and technology revolutionised viticulture and wine making. But despite the chemical formulae and computerised wineries, the grape retains its magic and allure that attracts wine enthusiasts from all over the world.
