createStemless wine glasses. Good thing or bad?
The WSJ writers Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher have stated their ambivalence about stemless wine glasses. They love them on the one hand because the informality suits their philosophy that wine should be easy and comfortable. They dislike them on the other hand as the purpose of stems is to avoid warming the wine with your hands.
I am big fans of this husband and wife team and respect their opinion. Does anybody have anything to add to the debate.
Michael,
Thanks for your response. My feeling is that you are dead on when it comes to a quality wine. But recently I was at a friend’s house for a casual dinner and they served a good but cheap bottle in stemless glasses. Maybe it was the novelty, but I really enjoyed the informality.
We save the best wines for ourselves here in California. Just like we can’t get a good British beer in the States. Next time you are in town, look me up. I’ll introduce you to the good stuff. I’ll even serve it in a proper glass.
Andrew
Thanks for the offer; I will. Perhaps I’ll also bring something to share. However, I’m not sure how long it will be until I’m in your area.
In the meantime, I’ll go back to my very pleasant Cabernet Merlot from New South Wales, believe it or not, called Broken Shackle. I highly recomend it. The glass has a six inch stem.
Regards
Michael
I’m a traditionalist and I like stemed glasses. I like to be able to tilt and angle the glass, to really appreciate the whole context of wine without getting my hand in the way. If you just want to insult the vintner and the time he has spent developing his craft, just down it with a paper cup! The only time I truly want the heat of my hand to effect the contents is brandy. But then again, I dislike fads (i.e, disco). Or maybe, I like to be able to reach for my glass without the complementary saucing of my sleeve at a nice dinner.
All I know is that if you hand me a stemmed wine glass, it will soon be out of your possession forever. I always, somehow, someway end up breaking them. Even the plastic ones for use around the pool cannot withstand my wrath. As a result, my husband and I save the stemware for guests only. And I am forbidden from hand washing the good ones since we want to hang on to them…
I have a hard time viewing the “stemless wine glasses” as informal. I mean.. they are still shaped to complement a specific wine/varietal like Burgundy or Cab Sauv. They are still thin rimmed and clear.
I say, if you are going informal do it. My wife and I regularly drink everyday wine out of our “cow glasses”. One of my favorite bistro’s serves wine in what appear to be stemless water glasses - and it’s great.
The problem I see with the “stemless wine glasses” is that they sit uncomfortably in that middle ground between formality and informailty. Seriously, is a stem really that intimidating?
Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are.
It occurs to me that one of the benefits of a glass with a stem is that it disinguishes it from the water glass.
Hi Andrew
I’m a traditionalist and when drinking quality wine I want a traditional glass.
No debate.
I guess it maybe different for Californian wines!