As many of us are aware, those who drink wine and use the proper stemware are conscious about its long-standing history. Wine glasses have been used since ancient times, and survived today and the future due largely to the ever-growing wine making industry. Circa 23 to 79 A.D. the philosopher Pliny wrote about how silver and gold drinking ware were being replaced by those made of glass. The prices also escalated, and one had to pay almost the same amount for glassware made from precious metals. One of the oldest surviving glasses is of European descent from the 15th century. These were enameled goblets complete with stem and foot. According to history, wine glasses were affected with refined engravings towards the culmination of the 16th century. Also in the 16th century, we discovered primitive English wine glasses which were engraved with diamonds by the late Verzelini. By 1740, wine glasses with adorned upright stems became fashionable. Air twisted stems were also commissioned around that same period, although a decade will pass before these very stems were made with incised twists on their peripherals. Crystal wine glasses of superior quality made headlines in France circa 18th century. During the same era, cordial glasses had bowls of similar dimensions that were common for wine glassware. But there were much more minuscule and housed only about an ounce of liquids. Wine glasses made in the 19th century were more often than not manufactured as sets. These sets comprise 12 each for containing liqueur, champagne, port, sherry, burgundy and claret. In the 1950s and onwards, glassware extraordinaire Riedel, further distinguished the glassware evolution by making wine glasses for almost every wine variation. Each glass is shaped uniquely with specific purposes such as wine tasting. Riedel's special wine tasting vessel comes with a minute bowl enough to contain a single sip. The tasted wine can then be tipped on its side and swayed across a smooth plane to cover its inside surface with wine. This takes practice though. Although wine glassware are made for drinking wine, designers have become more creative and discovered and promoted a multitude of other uses for them. For instance, certain types of food can be presented in wine glasses, such as shrimp cocktail or layered desserts. For a formal dinner, the wine glassware selected is usually ones which are tall-stemmed for white wine, expansive goblets for reds, and smaller versions for aperitifs. A suitable water glass should also be added for those who sip water between wine drinking. Wine glasses must never be filled to the brim, the accepted amount is between one third to one half full at any given time. Do not replenish wines so quickly. Ask your guest to avoid embarrassment. The reason for this measurement is so that the drinker may tilt the glass to a 45 degree angle, to best appraise and derive pleasure of the color and taste of wine. Wine glassware has withstood the test of time, and no matter what the occasion, adds an elegant touch to any evening of wining and dining pleasures.
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