Lots of people believe that which glass you drink a wine from doesn’t matter. The flavours will be unaffected right? Well, it is becoming increasingly popular to have a number of sets of glasses especially for different types of wine.The grandfather of Mr Riedel (The well known wine glass brand) was the pioneer of the different shaped wine glasses and was the first to produce special designs for different wines.Ever since, people have been convinced that the theory is correct and you can really notice a difference is the drinking experience. One of the most passionate being Shaun Green, a buyer for K & L Wine Merchants in San Francisco who says “It really does make a difference”.  Riedel now have over 40 different types of wine glasses, but if you can’t afford, or haven’t got space for these glasses, how many are vital to own?

Red Wine - You really need a big-bowled smooth and basic glass for the drinking of red wine. This allows you to swirl the wine in the glass and release it’s flavours. It will also let you fit the whole nose into the glass easily to pick up the maximum flavours in the smell. This is a characteristic that is also seen in a whisky glass

White Wine – The smaller-bowled glass with a higher rim is needed for drinking white wine. This allows the flavours to remain compact in the glass and the aroma to settle above the drink and not spill over.

Champagne – The long thin iconic shape of champagne glasses is needed to drink this luxury product. The bubbles are preserved in the flute better than they would be in another glass and the the narrow rim prevents the carbonated air from entering the sinuses.

Almost all other wine types can be drunk out of these 3 basic designs so no need to fork out for a massive set. So if you don’t own these 3, you’re not getting the best from your wines.

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Pubs and clubs across the UK could be getting a new pint glass available soon. Say bonjour to the ‘Schooner’ glass. Basically, the schooner glass is a glass that holds two thirds of a pint. The move follows a bundle of mixed opinions from the pub trade that would love the opportunity tot sell smaller measure of beer for stronger ales. Reports have also claimed that this beer glass will give females a chance to order a beer in a smaller measure as reports have suggested that women think the pint is too much.

Pint glasses were too big and got hot in the sun so the Aussies created a schooner which is half the size and half as manly. Why people think that same methodology will apply to us in beyond me but pub landlords in the UK are taking it very seriously indeed. However, many critics from around the country are scared that the schooner will herald a shift away from the traditional pint itself. There are three different variations for a pub; pint, half pint, third pint. The smaller glass will no doubt cause a huge amount of confusion for any pub’s glassware and cutlery as the glass itself looks almost identical to a pint glass and there will no doubt be mistakes. The idea to try and drink less is always something that the Government would want to push as much as possible. It is the same with wine glasses. In many pubs they will only sell a much larger size wine glasses in the bar and in their dinnerware.

The Association of drinking in Scotland said that there was no call for these glasses stating that there was no demand. Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said: ‘There is no question of replacing the British pint, but introducing the option of a brand new imperial measure is good for consumers and providing them with far more choice.

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Not many people fully understand why you can buy so many different shaped glasses in the shops these days. To the uninitiated the variety may seem a little unnecessary, surely they can’t change the flavor of the liquid they hold can they? Well you might be interested to learn that they definitely can, and here is an explanation why.

Whisky Glasses. The reason that whisky is most often drunk from a wide tumbler is an interesting one. Because whisky is often consumed ‘straight’ and not diluted with a mixer (although it can be), the volume of a serving is often quite small. What this means is that if it were served in a tall thin glass with ice, the ice would have to be stacked up and only a small amount would be in contact with the whisky. As ice is necessary to chill the whisky and release its deeper flavors, it’s best to serve the drink in a wide shallow glass where the ice can move around and have more contact area with the liquid, thus chilling the whisky more.

Champagne Flutes.This type of wine is served in long thin glasses and again there is a good reason for it. As champagne contains lots of little bubbles, it releases a constant flow of powerful gas into the glass as they float up and reach the surface. If the glass had a wide rim then your nose would be situated within the glass when drinking and the powerful gasses would effect flavour by numbing the sinuses.

Red and White Wine Glasses. The shape of a red wine glass is more often than not large and round. What this means is that you can swish as swirl the wine about in the glass, breaking up the flavours and releasing more of them into the body of the wine.  Also a wide glass means your whole nose can easily fit within it, which is important for soaking up all the rich aromas. A more conservative and tubular glass is used for consuming white wine. This is because you want to keep the flavors quite compacted in the glass and absorb more of the aroma of white wine through the mouth rather than the nose.

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