The Wine Glass: Science or Marketing?

By Sarah Chia and Kimberley Ohayon

These days it seems like the perfect wineglass has become something of a feat of crystal engineering. Books, sommeliers, and gleaming advertisements will tell you that the wineglass and its stem, size, bowl and lip shape affect exactly how you will experience the wine. If you are to be considered anything more than a novice wine drinker, you must have the perfect glass… so they say. 

It was Riedel glassworks that pioneered this theory. Originating in Austria, this family believed that the shape of the wine glass affected the way the aromas of the wine are directed, and how you experience taste. Different bowl shapes would direct the wine to different parts of your tongue, and so your experience of wine would vary depending on which tastebuds were ‘activated’ (bitter, sour, salty, sweet, umami). 

Riedel deduced that each variety of wine benefited from a different glass shape, and so you can now find a wine glass for Bordeaux, Burgundy, oaked Chardonnay, unoaked Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and for Grenache and Old-World Syrah wines. This began a worldwide trend carried on by successive generations of the Riedel family and now explains the multitude of different glasses you see online, or at any department store and even the local Target. 

So, is this something the average wine drinker really needs to be concerned about? Is this something we need to be splashing cash on? Well, we think it’s safe to say that the science is pretty much debunked on the topic of tongue maps. Our senses of taste and smell are much more sophisticated than five simple flavours. 

While it is generally agreed that a larger bowl allows more aromas to drift up into the nose and a smaller, tapered mouth shape directs these smells into our nose, this is where the rules for wine glasses generally end. The first, and most important rule of wine is to choose a wine you like, and to enjoy it with friends and family! 

If you are looking to get the most out of your glass, there are some tips to consider. Firstly, don’t overfill the glass – pour only to the widest point in the glass. This creates a larger surface area to release the aromas. Secondly, leaving space between the lip and the wine not only means you can pull off that suave wine swirling technique – it also helps to capture the aromas and channel them up towards the tapered lip so you experience them more richly when you smell and sip. 

Ultimately, it’s up to you what to drink it from, whether a fancy crystal glass, a mug, or a glass you got at the op shop. The vessel only changes how you perceive the wine, and it is certain that even the perfect wine glass won’t make a bad wine taste good. It’s your own personal experience that matters most.