What does your wine glass say about your wine? for most of us, it doesn’t say much other than we’ve probably been drinking out the wrong wine glass for most of our lives.

A few weeks ago I attended an online virtual wine tasting with Riedel Glassware and Wine Events Scotland, and my wee wine mind was completely blown! Everything I thought I knew about tasting wine, went out the window and I’ve since banished all previous wine glasses to the back of the shelf.

The shape of your wine glass absolutely 100% changes the bouquet, texture, flavour and finish.

REVIEW - RIEDEL GLASSWARE WINE TASTING WITH WINE EVENTS SCOTLAND

Wine glasses or stemware, consists of 3 parts: the bowl, stem and base. The height of the stem and the width of the base are part of the glass design (known as the architecture). The shape, size and rim diameter are what determines the flavour that is perceived by the receptors on your tongue.

We have five basic tastes: salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami. Each of these flavours has their own receptor cells located on the 10,000 taste buds on the papillae (bumps) on our tongue. The primary receptors that pick up the flavours found in wine are the sour ones.

There are five tastebud landscapes on your tongue that represent the four of the five tastes. All your tastebuds can detect all your tastes but each individual area is more receptive to a specific taste sensation.

BACK OF THE TONGUE, CENTRE - is where you will taste bitterness. This taste referring to wine is unpleasant.

BOTH SIDES OF THE TONGUE - is for sourness and in wine this is acidity. You’ll more than likely draw your cheeks in but it is also where a natural mouthwatering reaction comes from.

TIP/FRONT CENTRE OF YOUR TONGUE - is for sweetness. You’ll feel this and its highly receptive.

FRONT SIDES OF YOUR TONGUE/NEXT TO THE SWEET - is for saltiness and in wine its referred to salinity/minerality and brininess.

MIDDLE OF YOUR TONGUE - void of tastebuds hence the need to swirl the wine around your mouth.

This is the part I find fascinating, and something I hadn’t really thought of. Depending on the shape of the glass, you tilt your head differently. When you drink from a narrow rim or aperture you will tilt your head back, whilst a glass with a wide rim or aperture makes you lower and then lift your head; thus engaging the various receptors on your tongue to bring certain flavours to the fore.

First up, we tried the Esk Valley, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2019 white wine in the Riedel Sauvignon Blanc Performance Glass.

The grapes for this Esk Valley wine are riesling that grow close together in bunches making for a sweet ripe grape. On the nose its packed with tropical fruits - I pick up grapefruit, citrus and herbs.

The glass has a narrow aperture which causes you to tilt your head back thus allowing a faster flow of wine into the mouth thus engaging the acid receptors which is needed to balance this wine. It produces a fruity well balanced taste with a long finish.

Second of the white wines was the Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Chardonnay 2019 from Chile. Coastal vineyards with a cool climate terroir mean that these grapes get the warmth of the midday sun but the cold influence of the sea and mountains at night; bringing us grapes that take their time to grow and gently ripen.

On the nose its bursting with peaches, melon, citrus and pineapple thus requiring a large bowl to really take in these aromas; whilst flavour wise it’s full on citrus with a hint of creaminess. Chardonnay needs to explode on your palate with all those sunshiny flavours and rich characteristics. This glass is large and open; you lean your head forward and bring it up, rather than tilting back so that you engage all the tongue at the same time

For the reds we explored Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2019 and the Errazuriz Max Cabernet Sauvignon 2018.

The Pinot Noir glass is my favourite. It’s a stunning shape and just beautiful to twirl around. Each Riedel Performance glass has interior panels cut into the crystal glass. Not only is it hypnotising it also serves a purpose of enhancing the aroma and taste of your wine.

The Pinot Noir wine requires decanting for a few hours before drinking, allowing the wine to open up. I have to say that this Pinot Noir filled with raspberries and red cherries in this glass was my idea of heaven - I just needed a beach and sea, and I would have been in my element.

On the palate its packed with big red berries with a touch of spice but with an earthiness, almost vegetal undertones. The glass has a slight lip and has the narrowest apertures of all the Riedel glasses which acts as an acidity bumper and bounces the acidity of the rim of the glass. You tilt your head back with this engaging your acidity receptors which allows the wine to superbly integrate with the fruit notes and the underlying notes of vegetation that you will pick up too.

As for the Cabernet Sauvignon, these vines are grown further inland on the Errazuriz Estate but still exposed to the long warm days and the cooler nights, meaning a longer ripening period that produced grapes with intense flavour.

The wine itself is a stunning deep rich ruby red with lots of red and black fruits - raspberries, blackberries and cherries; but there’s clove and liquorice there too. This is quite a sweet wine with low acidity but high tannins thus the complete opposite to the Pinot Noir. The glass has a big bulb which is needed for the aroma and as there is no acidity, you don’t want to tilt your head back.

Riedel stemware has become my go to for wine glasses. They are unbelievably light, with a thin elegant stem, solid bulb and perfectly balanced. They are made from crystal glass, laser cut and polished. The rim is exceptionally thin as to resemble a kiss on the lips - smooth and sensual.

The impact this has on the aroma and taste of your wine is astounding and I cannot wait to taste some old favourites in the correct wine glass.

If you would like to learn more and want to join in a virtual tasting, receiving four wines and four Riedel stemware glasses, follow this link to book your place:

https://wineeventsscotland.co.uk/events/riedel-performance-experience-tasting/

This virtual online tasting was an eye opener and enlightening. A massive thank you to Riedel Stemware and Wine Events Scotland for hosting me.