When considering how a dish should taste or how to serve alcohol, it's worth observing how people from the country where these customs and flavors originate do it. Thanks to the widespread availability of travel and the Internet, we learn that something that seems like a profanation of tradition or a new trend to us has been commonplace in other countries for decades. This is the case with serving wine... in glasses!
The Philosophy of Wine Glasses
When we consider ways of serving wine, beautiful glasses with a bulbous or slender shape come to mind. They are a symbol of elegance. They can differ in the length and thickness of the stem, the shape and capacity of the bowl, and the overall design. Some are styled after traditional goblets known from history textbooks, while others impress with a geometric, modern cut. In sommelier handbooks, the glass is chosen based on the type of wine, its origin, and its intended purpose.
Glasses full of red wine are associated with a date, exquisite food, dinner in good company, love, and friendship. Their construction – a bowl set on a long stem – is not accidental; the way a glass is held reveals whether the person enjoying the drink is a connoisseur.
What distinguishes a wine glass from a regular glass is the long stem. This is what you should hold the vessel by. The point is not to warm the beverage inside. Moreover, the hand, which carries many scents – such as perfume or soap – does not then interfere with enjoying the wine's aroma. The stem also makes it easier to swirl the vessel to release all the qualities of its contents. A large glass helps in observing the color, as well as in checking whether the wine settles on the walls, leaves sediment, or flows freely. When we raise it to our lips, we have the opportunity to feel all the aromas before the tart or sweet taste appears on the tongue.
Italian Looseness
Italians are a family-oriented nation, very attached to tradition, their history, and food. To understand the philosophy and taste of various types of pasta, pizza, ice cream, or coffee, you need to visit local restaurants. In the first few days, however, you might be quite surprised. Ice cream is not served in scoops or from a machine, but piled generously, though seemingly "carelessly," into a cone. Pasta is liberally drizzled with olive oil, swimming in it, while cheese is added only "to taste." Pizza is sold on the street in square (never triangular!) slices or served whole in restaurants, to be eaten with cutlery. Coffee, in turn, is just a sip or two of black, bitter, and dense espresso. Travelers who visit local eateries will encounter many surprises and misunderstandings – but thanks to this, they will be able to understand the Italian way of life, the taste of dishes free from tourist trappings, and the true culture in which Italians grow up, which is not a postcard for visitors.
One of the surprises encountered by those dining in small Italian trattorias, especially in smaller urban centers, is drinking wine... from a glass. In this case, this drink is simply an excellent beverage that enhances the taste of the food while spending a cheerful (and noisy!) time with one's family. Drinking wine is just an element of the gathering, joyful moments with loved ones, and not a ritual in itself. Thanks to the discoveries of travelers, this everyday custom of southerners is becoming a new trend for serving wine in Poland.
Wine glasses
Stemless wine glasses have many advantages. They are, first and foremost, easy to store. They can be kept in cabinets or drawers where we keep other beverage vessels. Wine glasses are usually kept in boxes because they are easily broken and often do not fit into kitchen furniture. Wine glasses can be washed in a dishwasher, which is not always possible with stemmed glasses due to their shape. Even handwashing and wiping is much simpler here.
These vessels resemble stemless glasses, so when drinking, the aroma and taste will harmonize, just as in a traditional ritual. Similar to stemmed glasses, we can choose from glasses dedicated to white or red wine. The wine will not warm up as quickly, provided we remember not to hold the glass continuously in our hands.
If we plan to drink wine during a picnic or in a similar setting, glasses will be an excellent idea. Not only are they easier to place on uneven ground – their main advantage is hassle-free transport. Wine glasses will fit into any bag or backpack without fear of breaking the stem, as is the case with a traditional wine glass.
Regular Glass vs. Wine Glass
Glasses designed and created for drinking wine differ from traditional ones. They have a large capacity – it can even be 500-580 ml. Their shape resembles the bowl of a goblet. Thanks to this, the aroma reaches the drinker's nose before they even taste it. The transparency of the thin glass of wine glasses allows one to enjoy the beautiful color of the alcohol. Drinking it from specially designed glasses is a preservation of part of the ritual and elegance that this beverage entails, but in a way that is just one small element of a gathering in excellent company.