Wine may be fun to drink, but the glass it’s sipped from is a serious matter. And while it may seem pedantic to some; others insist pairing the right glass with the right wine is essential to fully appreciate the quality of a wine.
It all comes down to shape and style. A smaller bowl, for example, will trap aromatics and keep acidity alive, while something larger allows for more aeration, encouraging tannins to soften and complex flavours to develop over time.
There’s more to the story than “this goes with that”. Oncore head sommelier Remon Van de Kerkhof believes glass choice is a matter of expression. “What do you want the characteristic of that wine to be? What do you want it to do with that dish? Do you want the oak or acid to be more pronounced? Do you want the bouquet to leap out of the glass?”
Amanda Yallop, Fink Group’s wine director, agrees. “You pick the glass depending on what you’d like to highlight. An oaked wine, for example, usually needs a larger bowl to release the primary profile, while an aromatic white wine likes to be held tighter in a smaller bowl,” she explains.
The way in which a glass is made may affect the wine, too. Zalto glasses, which are the vessels of choice at Oncore, are hand-blown in Austria on the same degrees of axis tilt (24°, 48° and 72°) as Earth. According to the producers, this creates a “cosmic parallel” that enhances the qualities of the wine served inside them.
This attention to detail might be a step too far, yet Zalto’s sleek design and feather-light weight certainly lend an ethereal quality to the liquid served inside them. “It brings a sense of luxury and removes the barrier between the flow of energy and your palate,” says Van de Kerkhof.
Other premium stemware manufacturers like Riedel, Spiegelau and Plumm, are popular choices in restaurants across Australia.
A champagne glass, a bordeaux glass and a white wine glass.
Photo: John Paul Urizar, glasses provided by Zalto (champagne, white wine and dessert) and Spieglau (universal, bordeaux and burgundy)Champagne
A slightly bulbed Champagne glass helps to keep the bubbles alive, and the flavour fresh and crisp. Crafted for younger Champagnes, sparkling wines, cava and prosecco, the shape of this glass accentuates both the aroma and palate of the drink, making it an excellent choice for a fizzy apéritif.
Bordeaux
The slightly tapered rim and linear shape of the Bordeaux glass means liquid will be distributed evenly on the palate, bringing balance to full-bodied, structured reds. Think cabernet, malbec, Rioja, brunello, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz.
White wine
The small bowl here benefits most whites by bringing out their acidity and accentuating certain aromatics. A great match for riesling, sauvignon blanc and muscadet, as well as lighter reds such as sangiovese and blaufränkisch.
Dessert wine glass, burgundy wine glass and universal wine glass.
Photo: John Paul Urizar, glasses provided by Zalto (champagne, white wine and dessert) and Spieglau (universal, bordeaux and burgundy)Dessert wine
With its wide bulb through the centre, the sweet wine glass allows sticky and concentrated digestifs to breath, bringing out their floral qualities. It’s smaller than
a regular wine glass too, concentrating the wine to the centre of the palate where the sugars are accentuated. Perfect for port, sherry and madeira, as well as single malt whisky.
Burgundy
The shape of this beautifully ballooned glass does well to capture the aromatics of more complex reds and richer whites. Its rotund bowl and narrow lips make it ideal for pinot noir, nebbiolo and barbera, as well as larger expressions of oaky chardonnay.
Universal
As the name suggests, this medium-sized glass is the perfect all-rounder, ideal for any mature white or red variety. It’s also Van de Kerkhof’s pick for grower or vintage Champagnes, with its breadth allowing the wine’s bouquet to truly sing.
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