Stemware is drink-ware that stands on stems above a base.  Stemware is most often made from glass, but may also consist of ceramics or metals materials.

Stemware includes these glasses and their often decorated styles or variations:

• Brandy Snifters
• Chalices and Goblets
• Champagne flutes
• Cocktail glasses-Including martini glasses and margarita glasses
• Cordial glasses
• Wine glasses

For the sake of simplicity and relevance we are focusing this post on stemware related to the consumption of wine and champagne.

1 - Brandy Snifters are primarily used for after dinner drinks.  Brandy can be defined as Pomace brandy, Fruit Brandy, or Grape Brandy.  The brandy glass is also good for brandy, scotch and cognac.  Serve your Brandy without ice (neat)  or on the rocks .

When you are looking for a Brandy Snifter keep these points in mind:

• While resting in your hand it has excellent balance
• It has a large surface area for enhanced aroma and flavor
• The glass is crystal clear and silky smooth
• Durability for years of enjoyment

2 - A champagne coupe (or saucer) is a stemmed glass that is shaped like a saucer and is used for serving champagne.  It's not used so much now for serving champagne.  For awhile now it has lost its champagne serving appeal because the more broad surface of the rim allows the champagne to lose the bubbles (carbonation) too fast, unless you are the kind of person who doesn't need a glass and prefers the bottle anyway (use a glass bowl if this is you), this is more an appropriate choice for a daiquiris style of drink. If you prefer, you have the option of a white wine tulip glass, which has the shape of a tulip in that the rim is more narrow than the middle and it is closer to a champagne flute, but it is still considered a champagne coupe – without the disadvantage of a flute of ripping your back out from tipping the glass back for the last of your champagne.  Interesting enough, this glass is preferred for sparkling beers.

2a - A Champagne Flute is also a stem glass but the bowl is tall and narrow instead.  The design was created to play up the bubbles, aroma and flavour.  Weddings are symbolic celebrations for this glass style.

Keep these things in mind with a champagne flute or saucer:

• You can hold the glass stem without touching the beverage, this allows for zero fluctuation of your beverage temperatures.
• There is such a thing as too small a stem diameter.  Your goal is to carry the champagne glasses on a tray easily.
• Smoother surfaces let you enjoy the bubbles in your mouth, instead of in the glass.

Wine glasses:

3 - Red wine glasses have a wider, more round bowl.  The rounder bowl lets oxygen mingle with the wine to alter the flavour and aroma.  Yes, that is good – for oxidation to occur, because it allows you to appreciate your red wine experience more.  Red wine glasses can be either a Bordeaux glass, which has a broader bowl for the fuller bodied reds, or a Burgundy glass with an even more broad and larger bowl yet.

• Pick a Bordeaux glass that is tall, so that the wine travels down the slope of your glass and goes immediately to the back of your mouth and the base of your tongue. Generally speaking, you will want a glass large enough for the wine to breathe and for the fragrant aromas to mingle. Some people like a glass that is large enough for their nose to fit in while they sip their wine. For those people it is simply a matter of comfort.

• Pick a Burgundy glass that is also large as well, but has a shape more like a bowl. The cup will be more 'squat' and the wine has to travel a faster changing slope before arriving into your mouth and being deposited on the tip and sides of your tongue. This Burgundy bowl lets you appreciate the strong aromas while also focusing on the flavours of the brighter and lighter components of the wine.

3a – White Wine Glasses are as varied as butterflies.  They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  You'll notice that they are a designed with a smaller size and a bit of a closed shape so that the wine stays cool longer.  The surface area and volume ratio helps to minimize the contact of air between wine, making it cooler-longer.  The glass shape allows you to taste the wine on the sides and front of your mouth – where you'll experience the sweet or dryness of the wine.  Crisper wines are the result of a good white wine glass.  The wide mouth glasses promote a faster oxidization which alters the flavor of the wine.  A smaller mouthed glass reduces the surface area and therefore, the oxidation rate.  And for those sparkling wines, an yet smaller mouthed glass is used so that the wine is sparkling longer.  Now THAT'S A CELEBRATION!

If you really want to get into the swing of things, try to collect one set of each glassware that is relevant to your wine choices so that you can fully experience the exquisites tastes that accompany good stemware choices.

Now that you know what you are doing, can you identify these glasses?

These classes generally cover topics for people who  feel intimidated about shopping for wine, who are confused by all the different labels with the names of places and grapes they never heard of.   These beginner wine classes are developed to take the mystery out of your wine experience. In its most basic format, the classes guide you beginning with the grape at the vineyard to the final bottle of wine at your table. You are shown how to taste a wine, how to understand the different wine labels, and how to properly serve your wine. These classes are normally offered in a relaxed atmosphere so that a beginning wine lover doesn't feel intimidated and they usually offer a chance to give feedback, so no matter what experience level you are, everyone can find a benefit in one of the classes offered for people new to wine – even the more experienced wine lovers!

For us, there was a local wine store that offered these classes and we walked to the class.  We recommend you take a cab, because you are tasting the wine, not just looking at it.  Also check to see about any fees involved if you register and take one of the classes.

Additional classes taught at a more beginning level may include information on how to identify a wines key components, how experts score a wine, proper wine serving temperatures and how to identify wine styles.  you may also be interested in learning about comparing and contrasting Old World and New World wines as well as learning about the regions they were made from.  Please take a cab or other transit if you cannot walk to the class.

If you are interested in learning an appreciation of wines that are made from the most well known grapes and some of the lesser known grapes from around the world, or learning about the origin of grapes, then you may want to look into a varietal class.  If exotic wine names frightened you before then you won't be afraid after you take one of these classes that explains in a class, tasting, seminar type format the grapes and wines and growing regions and their significance of the world.  These classes teach you about diversity of flavors and their cultivation.  We found them to be an excellent resource and made some great friends too!

Once you master those things you may be interested in a class on Appellation.  In appellation classes you'll learn about wines from the world's growing regions and the classic wines produced from them. These wine regions are appellations and are recognized by the wine industry and countries from all over the world as producing wines with a distinct uniqueness and character.

If you were ever confused by labels of wines from around the world that often don't list the grape varietal name, Or, does list the varietal name, but not where the wine came from, then you will enjoy getting information from your local winery or wine shop on where to begin.  We started our trek with information online, but found the classes to expedite our learning, friendly and easy to participate in and made valuable connections to both people and new wine experiences.

There is an etiquette that should be observed and it's the same as the customary opening of a car door – It is Ladies First. Women are served before men.  Chivalry isn't truly dead, now is it!?  In order for you to rid your mouth of the previous wine flavor, you may be offered a bottle of water.  Use the water as a mouth rinse instead of a beverage so that you can more fully experience and appreciate the flavors of your wine choices.

Heat has a tendency to affect the wine flavor, so hold the stem of your glass and not the glass itself when you are taking your sip.

If you are a smoker then you'll want to avoid smoking at the event so that your taste sensations are at their peak.  The same rule applies to colognes or perfumes.  Try to steer clear of additional 'odors.'  This courtesy will also be appreciated by others at the event.  Mints or gum can throw off the taste too, so use caution when you introduce other tastes and smells into your wine tasting experience.

I always wondered what people were looking for when they held their glasses up to the light.  Now I understand that it is not an empty gesture full of pomp, but rather an attempt to determine the body of the wine.  You may want to carry a cloth handkerchief or napkin with you so that you can wipe your glass to keep it free of smudges and so you can see clearly through it when you hold it up to the light and check the body of the wine.  You should also be able to hold your glass against a white table linen to check the body of the wine.  You are looking for variations in color.  White wine really are varied in color.  They may have variants from yellow (notice I didn't say white) to green and to brown.

Red wines can have variations from light red to brown red and, with age, are often lighter.  Here is something fun that we learned.  Do a rim test.  A rim test is when you check the color of the wine by tilting the wine to the glass rim.  Younger wines display a more purple tint and older wines are more of a dark (or brown) red shade.

If you want to appear to know something about wine then you will swirl the wine in your glass so that the aromas and flavors of the wine are released.  If you think of it as if you are cooking and by performing this task, releasing the flavor into the air to add flavor instead of into your food ingredients, then it makes great sense.

Once you have swirled your wine, you'll want to sniff your wine.  Smell and taste often combine for the full effect when we experience the taste and what our senses perceive of it.  It is an age old battle of the senses and their perception of one another.  Now you have two choices when it comes to smelling (or sniffing) your wine.  You can either sniff your wine in one long sniff or a short sniff followed by a longer sniff.  Once the smell hits your senses, think about what your senses are feeling (or experiencing).  You'll want to let the aroma rest on your nasal senses first – without tasting.

Tongues taste everything from sour to sweet, so you'll experience a variety of taste sensations.  First you want to know what your impression of the wine you are tasting is and second you want to know what your impression of the wine aftertaste is.

Once you take that first drink, swish it around in your mouth for a second or two so that all your taste buds experience it and can know the full flavor and then think about and decide if the wine is either heavy or light, rough or smooth.  Second, what aftertaste stays in your mouth after you swallow.  Did it last long and did you enjoy it – or not.  Whether you swallow or spit out the flavor to taste another, try not to stand too close to the spit bucket because you might get 'spotted,' if you do and it's not polite to watch someone spit, plus it doesn't look very nice and you might be tempted to make a face (completely innocent on your part, but if accompanied by any outburst that even resembles, "Oh yuck," then  it is you who are being rude, not the person discharging their wine from their mouth by spitting – take my word for it as the voice of experience).

And one more thing you may want to do.  If you know in advance what types and kinds of wine are going to be at the wine tasting you might want to either go online and research those wines, or go to the bookstore and look up a good book on the subject so that you are familiar with what they are known for in regard to taste and flavor.

Enjoy your time at the tasting!  And by the way, we celebrate all the holidays that our family and friends enjoy so whatever the season means to you, we hope you have a beautiful memory to cherish forever – Salut!