Wine Glasses
Aromas in wine can sometimes be shy. They often only reveal a hint of their complexity as they dance delicately and expressively in front of our nose and tickle our palate.
The right glass for every wine
Without the right glass, important wine aromas remain undetected or get lost between the glass and palate.
It is the function of a wine glass to inspire the aromas to a virtuoso performance, to fine tune them and to “steer their notes in the right direction” so that the full bouquet can develop in the glass and palate.
The theories around the role of the glass are as diverse as the philosophies about wine, but one should differentiate between generally applicable rules and theories, personal preferences and personal experiences.
Basically, a wine glass should meet the following requirements:
Crystal clear - only a clear, transparent wine glass can reflect the clarity and brilliance of a wine. There is no need for flourishes, decorations and engravings.
Sheer - Of course this is a relative term. Experts see the thin glass as an objectively better drinking pleasure, because here the contact to the wine is more immediate. The temperature of the wine is also less affected by a thin glass.
Long stemmed - The stem should be so long that you can hold the glass easily with your index, middle finger and thumb. This prevents your hand from heating the wine and its scent influencing the perception of the wine aromas as well as unsightly fingerprints on the bowl of the glass that would cloud the visual appreciation.
Clean - residues of detergent, chlorine or even a cupboard smell, can quickly combine with the wine aromas so should therefore be avoided as far as possible. If in doubt, rinse the glass with a sip of wine from the bottle. This neutralizes all unwanted notes.
If these rules are followed then you are off to a good start. All other requirements for the glass in terms of shape and size are more a question of aesthetics and philosophy. The procedure then is simple: as is well known, enjoying wine starts with the nose. The wine is carefully swirled in the glass so that the aromas can unfold. The easiest way to do this is in a curved glass. The wine runs off the side walls and the aromas are released collecting in the airspace of the glass above the wine. There we catch them by taking a deep sniff and experiencing the wine sensorically for the first time. The more complex and full the aromas are, the greater the curvature and airspace must be in order to leave enough room for the richness and diversity to be revealed.
A chamber for wine aromas
Heavy and full red wines, Pinot Noir or Dornfelder, for example, open up best in bulbous, slightly voluminous glasses. Such a glass also helps with heavy white wines. The fact that a smaller glass is preferred for white wines is due to the often delicate and fine aromas, which are easily lost in an oversized glass. It is also because chilled white wine does not heat up so quickly in small glasses - it is drunk faster and then refilled from the chilled bottle.
The anatomy of our tongue plays an important role in the development of glass shapes. In this context, it has been agreed that drinking wine with a thinner, more delicate glass promises more enjoyment. When sipping, the mouth is poised and all taste senses are set for a new experience. Depending on the size of the glass opening, the first drops arrive on the different areas of the tongue and thus cause a specific taste experience. It is well known that our tongue recognizes four flavors, whereby the perception is enhanced by the concentration of sensors in specific areas: sweet at the front, sour and salty on the side edges and bitter at the back. This ‘geography of the sensors’ can be used to enjoy wine by using a suitable glass shape to control the path of the wine aromas on the tongue.
Glasses - shaping your experience
Young, lively wines, such as a Riesling with pronounced acidity, are therefore often guided over an outwardly curved glass rim and thus hit the tip of the tongue first, where the acid is not perceived so clearly. Incidentally, German white wines with their fruity and often intense aromas reach their potential in glasses with a typical tulip shape.
The round burgundy shape, on the other hand, is recommended for wines rich in body and tannins. Not only because the bulbous curve gives the aroma-rich ingredients a lot of room to express themselves, but also because the larger opening in the glass directs the wine first to the front tongue area, where the tannins are perceived to be milder and smoother.
Slim glasses suit sparkling wines and sekt with a fine perlage. Apart from the elegance of these glasses, the relevance of the form is crucial.
Such a variety of glasses may seem too obscure to new wine lovers, and even experienced connoisseurs may prefer to use the same glass for all styles in everyday life. If taking this ‘generalist’ approach, we recommend a glass with an "egg shape" that is bulbous at the bottom and tapers upwards.
Regardless of which wine or glass shape the gourmet chooses, one rule applies to everyone: the glass should never be poured fuller than the widest point of the bulbous opening. Only then is it possible to enjoy all the steps of wine appreciation - swinging, smelling and tasting.
What is a ‘mousse’ point ?
Deep down in the bottom of the glass there is usually a tiny ‘mousse’ point where the carbon dioxide breaks and rises in fine pearls like a string. The slim shape reduces the surface in the glass and keeps the pearls together with the elegant aroma of the sparkling wine for longer, thus offering more enjoyment.
Varietals
More recipe ideas
Tips from Japanese cuisine JAPAN : Sashimi
German wines have a natural advantage when it comes to entering into perfect harmony with selected Asian dishes. With a lighter alcohol content, sometimes crisp acidity, moderate residual sweetness or soft tannins in the case of red grape varieties, they are a perfect match for a wide range of styles of Asian cuisine.
- 200g Tuna Sashimi
- 200g-250g Squid sashimi
- 8 Blätter Green Shiso
- 10g Spice (garnish, white radish sprouts, etc.)
- 10g Soy sauce, wasabi
- 1,5 EL Soy sauce
- 1 EL Red wine
- 1 TL Olive oil
PREPARATION
1. Mix the sauce in a sandwich bag (ziplock). Put the tuna in it, remove any air, seal and leave it in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight.
2. Make a thin cut of about 2 mm on one surface of squid. Turn it over and place green shiso on the front. Roll up from the front and cut into pieces for easy eating.
3. Dry the tuna with a paper towel and cut into bite-sized pieces.
4. Serve tuna and squid with condiments, soy and wasabi.
- Pinot Blanc (trocken)
- Silvaner (trocken)
- Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
- Pinot Blanc (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Silvaner (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (halbtrocken & feinherb)
Tips from Chinese cuisine CHINA : Steamed scallops with vermicelli
German wines have a natural advantage when it comes to entering into perfect harmony with selected Asian dishes. With a lighter alcohol content, sometimes crisp acidity, moderate residual sweetness or soft tannins in the case of red grape varieties, they are a perfect match for a wide range of styles of Asian cuisine.
- 4 Scallops
- 1 Bündel Mung bean noodles
- 2 Garlic
- 12 Cloves
- 2 EL Oil
- 1,5 EL Chinese rice wine
- 1 EL Light soy sauce
- 1 Fresh chili
- 2 Spring onions
PREPARATION
1. Clean the scallops, take out the scallop meat and marinate in the rice wine. Wash the shells.
2. Mash the garlic, mince the spring onions and the fresh chilli.
3. Heat a pan with oil over high heat, add garlic and fresh chilli, stir for 1-2 minutes, then put it into a bowl, add light soy sauce and mix well to make the garlic paste.
4. Place the vermicelli in a bowl and soak in warm water for 5 minutes until soft.
5. Take the scallop shells, arrange the vermicelli across these, and place a scallop on each.
6. Pour the garlic sauce evenly over the scallops.
7. Steam the scallops for 6 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions.
- Riesling (trocken)
- Grauburgunder / Pinot Gris (trocken)
- Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Grauburgunder / Pinot Gris (halbtrocken & feinherb)
Tips from Asian cuisine CHINA : Dumpling
German wines have a natural advantage when it comes to entering into perfect harmony with select Asian dishes. With a lower alcohol content, sometimes crisp acidity, moderate residual sweetness or soft tannins in red grape varieties, they are a perfect match for a variety of styles of Asian cuisine.
- 500g Flour
- 240ml Warm water
- 400g Minced pork
- 100g Celery
- 1 TL Salt
- 1/2 TL Sugar
- 3 EL Light soy sauce
- 1 EL Oyster sauce
- 2 EL Oil
- 100 ml Water
PREPARATION
MAKE DUMPLING WRAPPERS
Pour flour into a large bowl, add 240ml warm water and stir until well-combined.
Wash and dry hands. Dip in some dry flour and knead the dough until it becomes smooth.
Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour.
MAKE DUMPLING STUFFING
Mix minced pork, salt, sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, oil and 100ml water, stir well and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Chop the celery and pat dry with kitchen towel.
Take the pork out of the fridge, add chopped celery and stir well.
MAKE DUMPLINGS
Divide the dough into 8g pieces.
Rub the dough with a rolling pin and press into a circle about 7cm in diameter.
Take 15g stuffing and put it in the center of the dumpling wrapper. Fold the wrappers, use fingers to press the edges together.
BOIL DUMPLINGS
Fill in a clean pot with water, and bring to the boil. Pour in an appropriate amount of dumplings according to the size of the pot, and boil them until they rise to the surface.
Take out the dumplings and serve.
- Pinot Blanc (trocken)
- Pinot Blanc (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Silvaner (trocken)
- Silvaner (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
- Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (halbtrocken & feinherb)
Tips from Japanese cuisine JAPAN : Soy braised pork
German wines have a natural advantage when it comes to entering into perfect harmony with selected Asian dishes. With a lighter alcohol content, sometimes crisp acidity, moderate residual sweetness or soft tannins in the case of red grape varieties, they are a perfect match for a wide range of styles of Asian cuisine.
- 1 kg Pork belly
- 120 ml German white wine
- 80 ml Soy sauce
- 80 ml Honey
- 50 ml Water
- 4 cm Leek (green part)
- 3 Ginger (thin slices)
- 4 Boiled eggs
- 1 Vegetables such as Chinese cabbage
PREPARATION
1. Cut the pork belly into large pieces to fit your pan.
Put the frying pan on high heat. When it gets hot, add pork belly, browning all sides, and then put in a saucepan. Add enough water to completely cover the meat.
Add ginger and leek and put on high heat.
2. When it starts to boil, turn the heat down low and boil for around 1.5 hours until the meat is soft (test with a fork). If it is drying out, add more water and let the dish boil slowly.
3. Let the soup cool down, then remove the meat and cut into blocks of about 4-5 cm square. (If you cool it down well at this stage, the meat will not become dry.)
4. Put meat and all the other seasoning except soy sauce, into a new pan (which fits the meat neatly) and heat. When it boils, turn the heat to low and cook for around 5 mins, then add soy sauce.
5. Place a plate, which fits snugly into the pan, directly on the meat (a drop lid is also acceptable). Boil for about 30 minutes.
6. Remove pork from the pan, put the boiled eggs and green vegetable to season them, and boil the broth to half the volume.
Put the meat back in and mix well with the broth. Put meat on a plate, add boiled egg or boiled green vegetables and pour over broth.
- Lemberger (trocken)
- Dornfelder (trocken)
- Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
- Lemberger (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Dornfelder (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (halbtrocken & feinherb)
