Before finding ourselves in an awkward situation in a high class social event because of being overwhelmed by the numerous wine glasses in front of us, we should learn the essentials in order to cope in such situations. Even though it may seem unlikely to some people to find themselves in such posh gatherings, spending a couple of minutes to read up on types of wine glasses and their ideal wine content is still good to do so. After all, self-improvement includes learning different helpful information even those that may seem very trivial.

The anatomy of the wine glass is very simple. It's composed of a bowl, a stem and a foot. With the exception of the tumbler, which doesn't have anything resembling a stem, these parts of the wine glass differ in sizes and measurements. These are not accidental shapes concocted by glass blowers however since each shape of these wine glasses are designed to optimize the flavor and quality of different wines available.

The previously mentioned tumbler shows no distinct quality and usually servers no specific purpose. The stem of other wine glasses is where they should be held to prevent the hand from altering the temperature, thus the taste of the wine it contains. This defiant wine glass called tumbler however can be used in a lot of ways, from being served with water, some types of wine and hard liquors. The other wine glasses serve specific functions to accommodate the wine it was intended for.

The best champagne glass is none other than the flute glass. It's probably one of the most distinct wine glasses with stems among the numerous wine glasses around. The bowl of the flute glass is narrow compared to others. While some have short stems and others have longer ones, the bowl of this glass is the most important part. It lets champagne bubbles travel further inside the side of the glass because of its tall bowl. While this is just an aesthetic factor, this also serves a function in keeping champagne taste great. The narrow mouth of the flute glass is efficient at minimizing the rate at which the champagne oxidizes, thereby retaining the fizz for longer.

When it comes to red wine on the other hand, the best champagne glass can't be as optimal as it is with champagne. While champagne loses its quality because of oxidation, red wine is the exact opposite. Oxidation of the liquid is emphasized, thus red wine glasses have larger mouths. However, recent studies show that the multitude of available wine glasses are not really as effective as they are when it comes to maximizing the aroma and taste of white and red wine. The information on this website suggests that buying plenty of wine glasses isn't really practical. Red and white wine apparently don't really change much in taste when changing temperature slightly so flat bottomed glasses and tumblers are slowly finding their way as replacements for a lot of wine glasses.