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How to Select Stemware for Different Types of Wine

Wine connoisseurs believe that every type of wine is best serviced in specific wine glasses to bring out its unique bouquet. Below is a quick guide for how to select the right wine glasses for different types of wine.
Commercial Restaurant Supply and Stemware

Stemware for red wine

Red wine glasses have rounder, wider bowls to give the wine a chance to breathe. Most red wines are meant to be enjoyed at room temperature. The wider bowl of red wine glasses let the wine cool more quickly after it is warmed by hand contact.

Types of red wine glasses:

Bordeaux wine glass:

Tall with a wide bowl. It's designed for full bodied red wines such as like Cabernet and Merlot.
Bordeaux Wine Glasses

Burgundy wine glass:

Larger than the Bordeaux glass. Its larger bowl is designed to accumulate aromas of more delicate red wines such as Pinot Noir. Red Wine Glasses

Stemware for white wine

White wine glasses are generally narrower than red wine glasses and have somewhat straight or tulip-shaped sides. The narrowness and reduced surface area of white wine glasses help keep the wine chilled. The smaller bowls also help keep the wine chilled because they allows less hand contact with the glass, and thus less heat is transferred to the wine.

Other Stemware

Champagne flutes

Champagne flutes have by a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top. The shape and small surface area at the opening of the bowl keep sparkling wine bubbly as it is enjoyed. Champagne flutes are designed to be held by the stem to help prevent the heat from the hand from warming the champagne.

Sherry glasses

Sherry glasses are generally used for serving aromatic alcoholic beverages, such as sherry, port, aperitifs and liqueurs. Sherry is traditionally drunk from a small tulip shaped glass called a copita.