Any sommelier worth their trade can tell you that the outward appearance of a wine glass is extremely important to the perception of the wine itself. Wine glasses or Martini glasses can be found in an amazing variety of styles, with certain styles reserved for specific sorts of wine. Wine glasses fall under the category of stemware, which are drink ware that stand on stems above a base.

Therefore a wine glass is composed of 3 parts: the bowl, where the drink is contained, and the stem, which supports the bowl upon the foot, or base. The proper way to drink from a wine glass is to hold it by its stem. It is frequently assumed that this is done, particularly in the case of chilled wines, in order not to affect the temperature of the drink by passing along one’s own body heat thru the hand and fingers.

But that may be a misconception, as wine fans hold drink ware thus so as to discern color and clearness without their own hands and fingers getting in the line of sight. One apocryphal bit of lore involving taste that can basically be true concerns the particular development of wine glasses: those made of fused or cut glass are said to lightly alter a wine’s true taste.

Blown glass is an acceptable material for casual drinking in unique martini glasses, but many experts in the field claim that the very best quality wine should be served in lead crystal wine glasses. They definitely look impressive, to be certain, what with a higher index of refraction that results in aesthetically more pleasing lighting effects passing thru them. They also are heavier and therefore feel extremely nice when grasped, for those that take wine-tasting so seriously as to reserve special wares for the activity must of prerequisite also find strong solid glasses a further pleasure that increases all pleasure overall.