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Wine tasting glasses: the types

What should tasting glasses look like? Here's how to find the right glass for each type of wine tasting.

Wine tasting glasses: types and how to choose them

Wine tasting is a multi-sensory experience that involves sight, smell and taste and guides them to discover the many facets of wines. It is an experience that, to be performed at its best, is marked by certain rules. One of the most important of these concerns wine-tasting glasses.
Just as cellar masters use special tools and machinery to enhance the qualities of the grapes and turn them into fine wines, so those who are about to taste such wines must do so with the right tools. But what are the most suitable wine glasses to use for a tasting?

Wine-tasting glasses: the materials

Wine-tasting glasses, also called 'tasting glasses', can be different in shape and capacity but are united by the material from which they are made: a glass of excellent transparency. This material makes it possible to appreciate the colour, clarity and body of the wine on visual inspection, the first step in tasting.

Glass is one of the oldest materials worked by man: the exhibits at the Poggio alle Mura Museum of the Bottle and Glass show the evolution of production techniques for this material and man's progressive specialisation in its manufacture.
In the case of the production of wine tasting glasses, crystal is very often used, a special type of glass characterised by its transparency, which is ideal for the visual examination of wine.
The shapes can be many and vary depending on the type of wine chosen for tasting.

Tasting glasses for red wine

Tasting glasses for red wine should be chosen according to the body, complexity and aromas of the wine. The types that best enhance classic red wines of medium structure are the ballon glass, while for aged red wines, Burgundy or Barbaresque are preferred.

Ballon

The ballon is characterised by its rounded, pot-bellied shape, suitable for releasing the intensity of the bouquet of aromas that characterises young, aromatic red wines. In addition, the width of the surface and its consequent brightness allow its texture and colouring to be appreciated.

Burgundy

The Burgundy, on the other hand, whose name refers to the French region of the same name, home of Pinot Noir, has a more elongated shape and is used as a tasting glass for more structured red wines aged several years.
The elongated, bellied shape increases the surface area of the wine, allowing it to breathe and favouring oxygenation. Wide tasting glasses such as Burgundy allow for a careful and accurate visual examination: the width of the belly allows for proper rotation of the wine to appreciate the formation of the arches or tears and to better examine clarity, while the slightly narrower opening brings out more complex aromas, bringing them immediately to the nose for the first olfactory examination.

Barbaresco

Amongst the tasting glasses for structured red wine, mention must also be made of the round-bodied goblet with flared rim also known as 'barbaresco', from the town of Barbaresco in Piedmont where the famous wine of the same name is produced. The flared rim reminiscent of the particular tulip shape allows the bouquet of aromas to expand and evolve as one proceeds to the olfactory examination.

Tasting glasses for white wine

The most commonly used tasting glasses for white wine are the tulip and the Rhenish. Let us see below what the characteristics of both types of glass are.

Tulip

The tulip or 'Sauvignon glass' is the most classic of white wine tasting glasses and one of the most popular on the market. Its shape is reminiscent of the flower from which it takes its name, with a slightly convex and elongated belly and a flared opening that widens slightly from the central body.
This shape facilitates the ascent of aromas to the nose and is therefore particularly suitable for tasting fruity and delicate, light and medium-structured wines.

Renano

For more complex white wines, on the other hand, the Rhine is preferred, a goblet slightly closed at the top so that the intense aromas of structured whites are conveyed to the nose and the complexity of the aromas can be appreciated at first glance.

What is the ISO glass?

'ISO' is the acronym for 'International Standards Organisation', which is the international standardisation organisation responsible for setting various technical standards worldwide.

In 1970, ISO experts also codified the measurements of the wine tasting glass for use at official events. It is characterised by a different shape than those indicated so far and is suitable for all types of wine.

The ISO glass has a medium-sized belly with a slightly narrower opening to facilitate the concentration of aromas and their gradual release during the olfactory examination. It is filled to 50-100 ml, depending on the type of wine.