Why Expensive Wine Needs Quality Stemware: The Facts You Didn’t Know
When you are opening that $100 bottle of wine, it is a common mistake to drink it from cheap,
low-quality stemware manufactured in China. After all, what difference does it make? Well, it
turns out there are a number of important reasons why excellent wine deserves to be served in
excellent quality glassware. The facts in this article might change your mind about wine glasses
forever!
The Perfect Shape Makes for Perfect Enjoyment
There are many different shapes and styles of stemware for wine, and there is a reason for
every single one of those. The stemware chosen for a particular wine can make or break your
experience of the wine itself, mostly (to put it quite simply) through their impact on your sense
of smell. The aroma of wine is said to be 90% of the taste experience.
If you want to narrow all of the shapes and sizes of wine glasses down to the most essential
factors of a perfect wine glass, those would be:
● Made from crystal glass
● Tulip shaped
● With a thin rim
The science of it is all about experiencing wine with your senses. The tulip shape allows for the
aromas of the wine to develop, rise and hit your nose at the perfect spot. A thin and well-
shaped rim is necessary for the wine to flow into your mouth and to hit the perfect areas of the
tongue. And the crystal glass, well… That’s a whole other thing.
Crystal vs Glass: The Big Picture
When choosing whether to purchase crystal glassware vs standard glass, there are a few factors
that help to make the decision.
Why choose a crystal?
● Crystal has a big impact on the taste of wine because it has a rougher texture than
regular glass, which allows the wine to properly release its aromas.
● The minerals used in the manufacture of crystal glasses allow for them to be made ultra-
thin without losing durability, meaning… that thin rim that we want. (Wine glasses made
of glass generally have a lip to their rim in order to maintain durability. This affects the
experience of your wine.)
● Crystal refracts light, which makes it sparkle in a beautiful way.
Why choose glass?
● Glass is inexpensive because it is of lower quality.
● Glass is dishwasher safe, whereas crystal normally needs to be hand-washed.
● Crystal sometimes contains lead, which has negative associations.
But Here Are the Facts That Change the Game
Crystal glassware manufacturers now make lead-free crystal glass. Not only does it get rid of
the negative associations that the word ‘lead’ has to us, it completely changes the game when
making the decision between crystal glassware and regular glass.
● Lead-free crystal glass is dishwasher safe.
● Lead-free crystal glass is scratch-resistant and harder to break.
● Nowadays you can find quality lead-free crystal glass at an affordable price!
Choosing The Right Crystal Glassware
If you want to really find the best crystal glassware out there, always go with Bavarian glass.
Made in what is now the Czech Republic, Bavarian glass has a history that spans hundreds of
years of manufacturing crystal of the highest standards of quality, beauty, and craftsmanship.
Compare that to crystal glassware made in China, or even the USA, where standards for what
can be considered “crystal” glassware doesn’t need to meet these criteria at all.
The Experience of Wine In Crystal Glassware
The experience of drinking wine from stemware made from crystal glass is like no other. The
gleam and glitter of the crystal would impress any guest on special occasions. The excellence of
the wine is captured by the porous quality of the crystal glass, swirling and releasing its bouquet
just right. Then the first sip glides onto the tongue, tasting exactly as it is designed to taste.
And one more thing… cleanup is a breeze because our lead-free Bavarian crystal glassware is,
after all, dishwasher safe!