On a recent sailing trip, a colleague brought on board 2 cases of wine and 6 bottles of champagne. It was going to be a great weekend! All guests had been asked to supply their own wine glasses (silly me, I should have specified ‘unbreakable’ as a requirement – but that’s another story!). When we were ready to open the first bottle, everybody whipped out the wine glasses they brought, and it was funny to see so many different types of wine glasses! From stemless to polycarbonate to hand-blown crystals… That got me thinking about how wine glasses have evolved over time.
I thought I’d share my findings with you today, focusing on red wine glasses since that’s what I drink most often.
First red wine glasses
The developing of glass and crystal industry in the 17th century gave birth to a great diversity of shapes and decorative trends. It was the period when the aspect of the recipient was more important than its functionality, the specialists trying to decorate the items using unusual ideas. One of the main disadvantages: the color of the wine was hidden because of the decorative elements of the glass recipients.
Red wine glasses today
The discovery of the special glasses that are currently used by professional wine tasters created another trend. It is a simple observation: a wine tastes differently if it is consumed in different recipients. This is how different glasses for wine tasting and drinking appeared. The specialists are complicating this matter even more by coming up with different recipients every year. We can even speak about a fashion, as the glasses from this year might not be in style the next year.
Advanced red wine glasses
The appearance of dedicated glasses for every kind of wine creates a true revolution in this area. The innovative minds realized that the sensorial mechanism belongs to the man, so the shape of the glass must resemble with the anatomy of the human body. Today, the most established wine producers are trying to manufacture glasses especially for their wines.
It seems like the newest models of wine glasses are able to create fields of positive energy. Whether this is only a marketing method or those glasses are really able to change your state of mind, it is up for the future to decide.
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