There’s so much to enjoy about sharing wine with friends, whether you’re busy amassing an impressive collection or you simply like to have your favorites on hand to go with any dish, any mood, or any occasion. Once you’ve started thinking about how to store and keep your wine collection safe and sound, it might be time to consider incorporating the right wine glasses into both your wine drinking experience and into your wine storage and display.
You can drink wine out of any glass you have on hand, and you don’t need the right glassware to enjoy wine, but educating yourself a bit and investing in some basic types of wine glasses could enhance your enjoyment. You could absolutely spend a lot of money on beautiful crystal or very specialized wine glasses, and you should, if you want to and it will make you happy, but buying a few types of glasses can also be very attainable and inexpensive.
While all wine glasses have elements in common, it’s the subtle differences that affect your experience. All stemware consists of the foot, the stem, and the bowl. The shape and size of the bowl are what makes the difference. Many wine drinkers happily drink wine from stemless “stemware,” too, though traditionalists might furrow their brows. Wine should never fill the bowl when you pour a glass. The air circulating through the glass bringing the notes and aromas of the wine up to your nose create the distinct experience of any given glass of wine.
The type and quantity of wine glasses you need for your collection depends entirely on what kind of wine you like to drink, how often you entertain with wine, and how much space you’ve got to store wine glasses.
Have on hand a glass for bold reds or full-bodied white wine such as an oaky Chardonnay. Make sure to have some glassware for white wines with a more delicate aroma. A smaller bowl and smaller opening will suit most. If you ever drink bubbly, it’s worth investing in a flute or glasses that suit effervescence. If you’ve only ever broken delicate, fragile champagne flutes, think about getting champagne coups or stemless flutes if they appeal to you. Once you’ve invested in the glassware you need, don’t hide it away. There are so many specialized types of glasses, but most everyone can get away with a few basics. You know yourself. If you love a spendy bottle of peppery zinfandel, make sure to invest in the right glass so that wine can shine.
When you’re planning your wine storage, whether you’re creating a dedicated shelving system in your basement or planning a knockout wine cellar in a new build, It makes sense to keep your wine glasses and your wine together for a few reasons.
When you go to open a bottle of wine, you’ll need a glass! Why not consider carving out space near your wine collection to keep your glasses at your fingertips. When you’re in the planning and creating stage, think about your wine and your wine glasses.
Whether you have invested in heirloom-quality crystal, you’ve inherited your grandmother’s wedding glassware, or you picked your wine glasses up at a kitchen store, they’re all fragile and should be kept safe. Keeping your wine glasses with your wine collection means you won’t be reaching into the kitchen cabinets past the serving bowls or packing your stemware on the bar shelves next to heavy pint glasses. You’ll have your hands on your wine glasses when you want to enjoy a glass of wine, instead of handling them every time you need to open a cupboard door for a coffee cup. Less handling means fewer opportunities for broken glasses.
When you’re planning wine storage, it’s practical to store your wine glasses with your wine, but it can also be an opportunity to create a little glamour. Crystal and glass have a way of catching and reflecting light that grabs attention. Create racks for stemware on the underside of shelves to keep glasses dust free and off of the delicate rim or incorporate a built-in display cabinet that complements the decor of your wine cellar to create a custom furniture piece just for glassware. You can go warm and Tuscan-style or cool and modern, and there are a million possibilities in between.
When you begin to think about creating wine storage in your house, the options can seem overwhelming, but Harkraft is your friend in the business. We create, design, build and install wine cellars big and small in homes big and small. Let our experience and expertise guide you every step of the way. Contact us today to create something special.
