Say that you only have Bordeaux and Burgundy stems at home, and they are good middle quality glasses like Spieglau, Schott, Riedel, etc., the kind that cost $5-15 per glass.
Question: Which glasses would you use for which of the other major categories of wine?
Sparkling wines
Light crisp whites like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, assorted Italian whites, etc.
Rhone whites
Chardonnay
Riesling / Gewurtztraminer
Rose
Nebbiolo
Sangiovese
Tempranillo
Grenache
Syrah
Zinfandel
Sauternes, ice wine and other sweet whites
Port and other fortified sweet reds
Feel free to add in other categories if you think they are of interest, give any reasons for your opinions, and elaborate if you think it makes a difference within a category (e.g. old wine versus young, new world versus old, etc.).
I drink 90% of my wines from Bordeaux stems. At tastings, where a sparklers are being served, winemakers always serve sparklers in Bordeaux stems for more aromatic enjoyment. The champagne stem has but one purpose, to show bubbles. Occasionally I drink Barolo from my burgundy stems, but many winemakers have also debunked that, including Bruno Giacosa.
… you are not allowed to drink anything but Bordeaux and Burgundy. Else the Wine Glass Police will be after you. And woe to you if you drink Bordeaux from the Burgundy glass.
I find the Bordeaux glass more versatile than the Burg glass, as it handles a wide range of reds and whites, while the Burg glass seems to work well only with Pinot and Nebbiolo.
Gerard nailed this on the first pass, in my opinion. This violates your rule, but adding something shaped like the Riedel Riesling/Chianti Classico glass to use for those wines, as well as most other whites, Barbera, Dolcetto, port and non-grand cru white Burgundy, along with your favorite shape for bubbly, will get you virtually any place that you would want to go…
+1
I use the Schott-Zwiesel Diva stems for everyday (Bord and Burg stems) and added some of their Chard stems. They are small and work well for Riesling, SB and dessert wines.
Funny you mention that Bill (and Scott)- I was going to suggest the riedel chianti/Riesling glasses for a third option. That is what I have and use for dessert wines, chianti, Riesling and most non-burg whites- but the Bordeaux stems are just as good.
My advice is to pick readily available glasses and buy the Bordeaux, burgundy and a smaller glass like the riedel chianti/Riesling or Chardonnay (non-grand cru white) glasses. That’s all you need. I wouldn’t mix and match within each category. If you have riedel Bordeaux stems, that is all I would buy… It makes replacement easier.
For me, dessert wines seem to be more concentrated and less flabby in the smaller glass (the same with SBs). I rarely use the Chard glass for Chard however; I prefer it in a Bord glass. We rarely drink Chianti so I need to do an experiment. I feel pizza night coming!
I do some wine appreciation classes, and always say that if you spend money on wine, investing in those 3 glass types (Riesling/Chianti, Bdx, Bdy will pay off and are all the glasses you need, and in my opinion will ever need (not that I live by it)). I find the Riesling/Chianti glass works wonderfully for Champagne and rarely care to use my Sommelier GC Champagne glasses.
The interesting thing is that you use some glasses for a particular appellation and others for particular varieties, with no concern for age, producer, vintage, or blends of specific varieties.
That’s why I use the same glass for pretty much all of my wine, i.e. whatever is handy. I happen to have a number of Spig “Bordeaux” glasses, as well as S-Z Tritan “claret” glasses, those are what usually what I use and they seem to work pretty well in that they don’t leak.
I basically use 2 glasses now, my universal for reds and some older Riedel Chard stems for whites and champagne. The only reason I don’t use the Zalto Universal for whites is my wine glass cabinet is packed full of white wine stems.
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