Choose Glasses Wisely
 for Good
Sipping
By Bob Woehler
Selecting the right wine glass can often
heighten the enjoyment of a wine, many experts will tell you.
To test this theory, I asked Wine Press Northwest magazine's
tasting group to try a variety of wine glasses, with each containing
the same wine.
Columbia Crest 1998 cabernet sauvignon was poured into each
glass. It's aromatic, rich and smooth, with nice chocolate and berry
overtones and a tasty finish.
 First
up was a juice tumbler glass similar to those a lot of old-world
wine drinkers use for everyday wine. It is small and you can't swirl
it much, but it did allow some of the wine's charm to come through.
Next was a 6-ounce Libby glass common in many restaurants that
aren't wine savvy. The cabernet was a bit more enjoyable than from
the tumbler.
A 10-ounce plastic glass adorned with grape clusters actually
detracted from the wine's qualities. Avoid plastic if you can.
The next glass was a Riedel crystal 13-ounce zinfandel glass,
followed by a 16-ounce Spiegelau crystal glass and
 finally
a 24-ounce Riedel pinot noir glass. The cabernet tasted fine in all
three, but probably best in the big 24-ounce glass.
What the panel found is that size seems more important than
shape, to a point. A bigger glass makes it easier to swirl and
aerate the wine before sipping.
Even so, the sturdy 16-ounce Libby-style restaurant tulip-shaped
glass that Wine Press Northwest's tasting panel uses proved just as
good as the fancy crystal in bringing out the nuances of the
cabernet.
What's most important to remember is that glasses should be
generously sized, with a tulip shape - a fat middle and a narrower
top. For red wine, a narrower top is better. A thin rim also seems
to enhance the enjoyment.
Very good glasses start at about $5. Fancy crystal goes up to $85
and maybe more, but the price won't make a wine wonderful.
For your $85, you can have a 10-inch-tall burgundy-pinot noir
glass from International Wine Accessory magazine that holds 37
ounces - about a bottle and a fourth if filled to the rim. The only
trouble is, one clumsy moment and you're out a small fortune.
Expensive crystal has its place at an elegant dinner and adds to
the ambiance. But those fancy crystal glasses with wide rims that
come in wedding glassware sets really don't do anything for the wine
except look pretty on the table.
A recent copy of International Wine Accessories magazine features
so many different glasses it can make your head spin - 24 different
sizes and shapes - for cabernet, syrah, chardonnay, pinot noir,
vintage-style chardonnay, dessert or ice wine, vintage champagne,
regular champagne, zinfandel, sauvignon blanc and a set of four
called Vinum, extreme service for new world wines.
For my money, I'll take the 12-ounce glass the Tri-City Wine
Festival has used for the past couple of years or the 16-ounce
Libby-style restaurant glass for everyday sipping.
New releases
The following wines were tasted by a Wine Press Northwest magazine
panel. Tasters do not know either the winery or the type of wine
when reviewing. A wine must receive a unanimous vote to gain an
outstanding rating.
McCrea 2000 chardonnay, Elerding Vineyards, Yakima Valley, $25
- Outstanding. Big, oaky, full-flavored chardonnay. A rich and
beautiful blend of oak and fruit. Aromas and flavors of fresh
Hawaiian pineapple along with lemon and a butter-soaked artichoke
bottom. Good acids and a nice mouth feel.
Bainbridge Island Winery 2000 siegerrebe, Puget Sound, $25
for a half-sized bottle - A sweet late harvest version of this grape
that grows well on the west side of the Cascades. Gooseberry jam,
pear and apricot flavors. Good perfume aromas and acids.
Hyatt Vineyard 2000 riesling, late harvest, $15 for a
half-sized bottle - Apple aromas, some mustiness. Nice apple juice
sweetness but not a lot of acid. Residual sugar is 7 percent.
Hells Canyon 2000 Retriever Red, Idaho, $15 - Outstanding.
A great syrah-cabernet franc blend, smooth as silk and loaded with
concentrated currants, cedar, tobacco and dark cherries. A
deliciously crafted wine.
Kiona 1998 cabernet sauvignon, estate bottled, Yakima Valley
$30 - Smoky oak and meat aromas with hints of tobacco. Lots of
berries, vanilla extract and chocolate traces with a dry, chalky
finish.
Bob Woehler
has been writing about grapes and wines of the Pacific Northwest
since 1978. His columns appear twice monthly in the Tri-City
Herald in Tri-Cities, Wash. and in Wine
Press Northwest.
Send
e-mail to Bob Woehler
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