Half full or half empty?

[Pauline]

Following the link in this item about wine glass sizes in the latest newsletter, I was surprised to see just how big the average size of a glass is reckoned to be today.

I was aware that wine glasses had got larger during my life time but my memory from buying some in the early 1980s is that most were a standard 125ml size. Mind you, we were quite hard up back then so were only looking at the cheaper ranges, and maybe the more expensive ranges were bigger. But they've survived well and cause much amusement in the younger generation who view them as very quaint and old fashioned.

However, our more moderate size glasses are good way of ensuring you don't have too much of a good thing.

 

[peter]

From what little I remember of posh restaurants, if you ordered a bottle of wine they would give you enormous glasses but pour less than an inch of wine in the glass. The glass sizes in pubs nowadays are 125ml (small), 175ml (medium) and 250ml (large), but the biggest things are the prices!

 

[At home in NZ]

From what little I remember of posh restaurants, if you ordered a bottle of wine they would give you enormous glasses but pour less than an inch of wine in the glass.

That's because you are supposed to sniff and taste before giving the go ahead to fill the glass.
We don't drink wine but have two sets of wine glasses which were gifts some years ago, I have no idea what capacity they are but the smaller ones are supposed to be for white wine and the larger ones for red wine.
I think that tradition may be long dead.

I fibbed, bubbly stuff is OK for me.

 

[peter]

That's because you are supposed to sniff and taste before giving the go ahead to fill the glass.

No it isn't - only one person tastes the wine, usually (but not always) the person who ordered it. In any case, in posh restaurants the sommelier sniffs the cork so it isn't necessary for the customer to check the wine.

 

[Susan48]

The point of pouring a modest amount of wine into a glass is so that the wine can be swirled around in the glass to release its aromas.

the smaller ones are supposed to be for white wine and the larger ones for red wine.
I think that tradition may be long dead.

The tradition is still going.

But they've survived wel

I'm impressed, Pauline! I hesitate to admit how many breakages we've had in case we're accused of overindulgence

 

[peter]

The point of pouring a modest amount of wine into a glass is so that the wine can be swirled around in the glass to release its aromas.

It certainly is - I did a wine-tasting course in the late 1980s which was enormously rewarding.

 

[Katie Bee]

I hesitate to admit how many breakages we've had

When my sister visits, she will not wash up our wine glasses as she broke one on the sink tap years ago.
I wonder when she will be allowed to come and stay again?

 

[peter]

When my sister visits, she will not wash up our wine glasses as she broke one on the sink tap years ago.
I wonder when she will be allowed to come and stay again?

All too easily done, which is why I generally use wine glasses that fit in the dishwasher - except on very special occasions.

Have you tried stemless wine glasses? I can't say they appeal to me, but I suppose it's one less bit to break.

 

[Katie Bee]

I generally use wine glasses that fit in the dishwasher

We don't put any of our glasses in the dishwasher! Glasses used to discolour and go cloudy in the dishwasher.
Maybe they don't do that now, but we have never changed our washing up routine.

 

[Katie Bee]

Have you tried stemless wine glasses?

We have not tried them, but we have visited friends who used them.
They looked like tumblers with round bottoms, and it felt very strange drinking wine out of them.
The next time we visited our friends were back to using 'normal' wine glasses!

 

[peter]

We don't put any of our glasses in the dishwasher! Glasses used to discolour and go cloudy in the dishwasher.

Advice from the Finish website.

 

[canadianbeth]

We put all of our glasses in the dishwasher without any problems (do not use Finish but what we do use has a rinse aid added)

 

[Katie Bee]

Advice from the Finish website.

We do all they say and have a water softener, but I still don't think you will get my husband to put glasses in the dishwasher.
I'll let you know if his dish washing habits change!

 

[At home in NZ]

Have you tried stemless wine glasses? I can't say they appeal to me, but I suppose it's one less bit to break.

They are quite popular here in NZ but I thought I'd Google to see what's what in UK:
Try this link.

 

[A. Muse]

One reason for using stem glasses for white wine is so that the heat from your hand does not warm up the wine in the glass. This is more relevant if you are standing around holding a glass with nowhere to put it down. The oppsite applies for red wine where you may want the heat from your hand to warm the wine slightly. The other obvious one is the brandy balloon where the hand heat helps release the aromas (or so I'm told).

 

[A. Muse]

Half full or half empty?

My usual reply to this question is 'where is my glass' or 'who has pinched my glass'.