Red Wine Glasses: How to Choose and Care for Red Wine Glasses

In our discussion of white wine glasses, we talked about wine glass essentials, including shape, size, color, materials and manufacture.  Of course, all of this information also applies to red wine glasses.  Your choices range from inexpensive, machine-made wine glasses to mouth-blown glasses made from the finest lead crystal.  Some red wine glasses have stems, while others are stemless.

Popular Red Wine Glasses

You will find several different types of red wine glasses on the market.  As with white wine glasses, the differences in shape are designed to enhance the best characteristics of each wine, minimize any flaws in the wine and allow the wine to flow to the part of the tongue that can best experience the specific taste of that wine.

The aroma of a red wine is especially important, so red wine glasses have broad bowls that allow you to swirl the wine enough to improve oxidation and release its aromas.

The two most popular red wine glasses are the Bordeaux glass and the Burgundy glass.  Bordeaux red wine glasses are tall with a fairly long stem and a bowl that is wide at the bottom but narrower at the lip.  The bowl is designed to channel wine toward the center of your tongue.

Burgundy red wine glasses are broader than Bordeaux glasses and have a large bow and shorter stem.  They can hold anywhere from 14 to over 35 ounces of wine.  The glass sends the wine to the tip of your tongue.

Of course, there are many red wines on the market, and glassmakers have created special glasses for some of the most popular.  For example, pinot noir glasses may have a flared lip, while tempranillo glasses are shaped like nearly-closed tulip blossoms.  If you'd rather not fill all of your cupboards with wine glasses, you can certainly get by with one or two types of red wine glasses for home use

If you are unsure which type of red wine glass is best for you, take a moment to think about the red wines you drink most often.  A Burgundy glass might be your shape of choice if high-acidity, full-bodied wines please you.  If, instead, you prefer red wines with more fruit, or if you experiment with many varietals, you might wish to try a Bordeaux wine glass. However, if you enjoy port or other dessert wines, you may wish to purchase glasses appropriate for the dessert wines you like best.