Do we need many different wine glasses,or is one sole glass best?

Do we need many different wine glasses,or is one sole glass best?

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Brunello, Casato Prime Donne

One glass for all wines. This is not a new idea; in 2012 I took part in the Chateau Baccarat presentation, this was created by the most famous crystal ware producers in the world, with a story of polished crystals 250 years long, especially wine glasses. A revolutionary glass with a long stem to sustain the cup that has a practically flat base that widens and then goes straight up to a narrow mouth so as to concentrate the aromas in a funnel. Last year I heard about another project for wine glasses that are just as revolutionary, in Portopiccolo during the Donne del Vino national meeting; è has been created by Luca Bini for Italesse, three years of trials.

A very feminine glass that is also very versatile, but most of all able to emphasize any wine even though it was thought out for sparkling wines.

So now there is a right-about-turn with respect to the usual proposal of a glass for each and every wine, bubbles, young reds, aged reds, wines for meditation …  that fill our cupboards. Great wine taster and high end designers have worked on these new “millevini” wine glasses, . These are not low profile choices and the extortionate price of the Chateau Baccarat proves this.

But now regarding the dispute one sole glass versus multiple wine glasses –the most famous wine critics in the world Jancis Robinson takes action. She is the Master of Wine that scares the great US wine gurus. She has created a range of wine glasses together with the designer Richard Brendon. It is called “1 collection” and it includes a decanter for young wines, a decanter for older wines with a stopper to limit oxidization (125 pounds), a water jug, a water glass and just one glass for wine.

The glass costs 35£ and was created to offer <<the best tasting experience for every wine >> said Jancis Robinson to The Drinks Business. It is resistant to dishwashers but the cup crystal is very thin so as to reduce the distance between wine and lips.

Ms Robinson had at length sought out <<the perfect wine glass>>. She in fact thought it very wrong to serve great  wines in small and narrow glasses that mortify their complexity, just as she had noticed the necessity for sherry, port and other fortified wine producers to serve their precious liquids in the same way as wines for the table.

The Calice Millevini by Jancis Robinson together with the crystals “1 Collection” is on sale exclusively in Harrods in London, in Hopson Grace in Canada and by Neil Bradford in Australia. But wine lovers from all over the world can order them online.