So . . . does this mean I need to rethink using water from the garden hose when rinsing out my glass while enjoying a nice bottle of wine on the back patio???
I’m with Alan. This contains several myths all in one!
I have been amused by proprietors at trade tastings. Some have insisted on taking my used glass, pouring some of their wine in the glass, swirling it vigorously and then pouring that out before pouring the same damn wine in the glass again. It can be difficult to remember to shut off the logic centers of the brain when around wine folk.
I often use my glass for water when its not convenient to have another glass only for water. Unless you are at one of those tastings where you’re lucky to get an ounce of a wine, I can’t see over worrying about residual water or wine.
Okay, so you’re suggesting we worry about which wine glass to use, whether and how long it was decanted, the temperature of the wine, how long exposed to air, cellaring temperature, shipping temperatures (too high/too low), smoke taint, etc.
We have forgotten about the issue of “charging,” “priming” or “seasoning” the glass for the next wine. And God forbid we should swirl counterclockwise. (Query: Does this hold in the Southern Hemisphere? Paging Jeremy and Kent!)
There is an art to rinsing, and it begins and ends with wine. After you’ve finished your initial glass and are ready to move on, you’ll want to rinse the glass with the upcoming wine in the lineup. Cohen suggests first pouring a small teaspoon amount of the wine into your glass before swirling it clockwise and upward to coat the glass, before dumping it out. “Swirling is key, as it will remove residue from the sides of the glass and most importantly charges, or primes, the glass for the next wine,” she says. Essentially you’re seasoning the glass pre-pour to ensure you’re getting only the notes from the current wine, and none from the previous pour.
If you rinse your glass with water and you leave a pool of water in your glass, that’s dumb. If you shake it all out and let it sit upside down for a minute, you may have a few drops of water in there. And then you pour in a few ounces of wine. So the “dilution” is pretty much nonexistent, more theoretical than actual.
If you have stinky water, like full of sulfur and real minerals (unlike the wine you refer to as “minerally”), then you might want to use something else.
If you want to rinse with wine, that’s fine, but if you’re at a dinner table it’s kind of weird to rinse at all. I do it when there’s sludge left in the wine glass though. With water.
If you’re taking a glass out of the cabinet, depending on how long it’s been there and what wood and varnish are on the cabinet, you might have some weird flavors and aromas in the glass. I rinse at the sink.
If you wipe out with a rag, you get bits of lint in your glass. I’d rather have water. And if the rag has been sitting around? It can start to pick up stench in a few hours.
I’ve seen people take glasses out of cardboard tubes and other things, in which they’ve been sitting for who knows how long. They don’t pick up the obvious notes from those.
And after watching hundreds of people taste wine, I’m convinced that a few drops of water, the previous wine, or cabinet smells will be utterly unnoticed. People just aren’t that good at picking up minor nuances. Even when they scrunch their faces up really tightly and look down while making their most thoughtful expressions.
Stinky water, you need to filtrate. Also you’ll get habituated to things like the iron content of your water.
Don’t store your glasses upside down, big no no.
Picks up odors from wood, finishes, and especially (if you have) particle board. More noticeable the longer you store the glasses. If you hang the glasses from a rack it’s less of a problem than it used to be since smoking is less prevalent.