Gormet Magazine - Article on Glassware

ABSTRACT

Differences in the physical shape of glasses could potentially influence proportions of aromatic compounds trapped in the headspace of a wine glass, altering the perception of a wine. Blindfolded, naïve subjects assessed the aroma of a California Cabernet Sauvignon presented in 4 different glasses. Two of these were from a speciality line of crystal wine glasses, one designed for Chardonnay, the other for Bordeaux/Cabernet Sauvignon. A restaurant-style wine glass and a leaded crystal goblet were the remaining vessels used. The nonexpert judges assessed wine aroma for total intensity, fruitiness, vinegari­ness, oakiness, and mustiness, as well as liking.

The only significant difference found in the aroma intensity ratings was for the Bordeaux glass, which was rated as having a significantly lower total intensity than the other three glasses. However, several significant correlations were found between the attribute intensity ratings and physical characteristics of the glasses. This suggests that the glass does have a limited, but subtle, impact upon the olfactory experience of wines.

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Perhaps the folk in the group with adequate training in these sorts of things could comment on the following papers (all obtained from the CV of Prof Delwiche at

Hüttenbrink, K.-B., Schmidt, C., Delwiche, J. F., and Hummel, T. (2001). Der genuss von rotwein wird durch die form des glases beeinflusst [The aroma of red wine is modified by the form of the wine glass]. Laryngo-Rhino-Otologie, Vol. 80, pp. 96-100.

Hummel, T., Delwiche, J. F., Schmidt, C. and Hüttenbrink, K.-B. (2003). Effects of the form of glasses on the perception of wines: a blinded study in untrained subjects. Appetite, 41, 197-202.

Delwiche, J. F. (2002) The Impact of Glass Shape on the Perception of Wine. Bacchus to the Future, The Inaugural Brock University Wine Conference; Proceedings of the Conference May 23-25, 2002. Eds. C. Cullen, G. Pickering, and R. Phillips. Brock University Press, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. pp. 21-30.

Delwiche, J. F., and Pelchat, M. L. (2002). Influence of glass shape on the perception of wine aroma. Journal of Sensory Studies, Vol.

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In scientific terms there are another couple of confounding issues. One is that *you* know which is which and may be unwittingly giving off cues. And if the participants are motivated to attend get to keep the glasses I'd guess some of them at least recognise right shapes

But I presume the main point is not scientific endeavour, but to have fun and (I guess) do business. Nothing wrong with fun and business, but it ain't science.

Still interested to hear what you report back though!

Cheers

Many thanks for posting those papers Leo.

It seems an awful lot of effort has been expended in these studies, but the effects they have found are still far from clear. These guys have been doing stuff like comparing bulbous shapes, tulip shapes and tumbler shapes and still getting mixed results! What does that say for the more subtle differences between the Riedel stems?

There was no mention of this in any of the studies but it seems pretty self evident to me that nose shape/size is important here - considering you have to get your hooter into the glass for a good sniff. Perhaps glasses should be tailored to the person rather than the wine....? Now there is a business opportunity for someone!

That the subtle differences Riedel claims are horse$hit?

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