Last night our wine tasting group held our monthly get together. The wine was Chardonnay, and all the bottles were probably too cold at the start. Each couple has eight glasses, so we can compare wines in any order we choose. There was a couple across the table from us. Their glasses were no more than a foot away from ours. And we poured from the same bottles at nearly the same time.
Odd thing - about a half hour in, almost all their glass had noticeable condensation (presumable from the cold wine), while none of ours did. Any guesses as to what was going on?
Could be thinner walls; maybe you were swirling yours more, to warm up faster and distribute the heating over a larger fraction of the bowl? Glass composition, maybe lead crystal?
Some more details. This was outdoors (so no AC). We use pour limiters to insure everyone gets a fair share, so the glasses were equally full (or empty depending on your view). Glasses are decent but not fabulous, and each couple brings their own. So difference in glasses is probably the source - perhaps theirs were colder than ours?
I’ve found that some water glasses (tumblers) I bought recently react very differently with water than any other glasses I have in any shape. Drips form on them and don’t run off naturally. I assume this has something to do with the nature of the glass.
So I could imagine that the surface of some wine glasses might be more prone to condensation than others. Just speculation, of course.