During this lesson, I was experimenting with drinking wine out of different sizes and shapes of glasses. Through these different sizes and shapes, I was set to identify any trends or factors that different sizes and shapes could have on the aroma and taste of the wine.
After setting up the five different sizes of glasses: White Wine (Chardonnay)
Shot glass: Small amounts of buttery and cream aroma. Not much space in the glass for the aroma to mature and develop. Without the smell of aroma, it's easy to taste the acidity of the wine, with a lag on flavors and taste due to the lack of aroma that the shot glass offers.
Short glass: Easier to get a whiff of aroma as my nose is able to enter the glass. Once again, a buttery aroma with a touch of citrus. With the glass being so open, the aroma doesn't really affect the taste of the wine. Similar to the shot glass, but with more prominent hints of oak and butter.
Tall thin: Hard to smell the aromas of the wine since the wine itself sits so far into the glass, the aromas cannot reach the nostrils well. The taste of the wine focuses on the acidity and lacks flavor, mostly due to the depth of the glass the wine is held in.
Smaller flare: Much better aroma smell as I am able to put my nose into it. With buttery aroma being the main smell I still receive. After tasting, it's easy to find the buttery, citrus, acidic, and oaky flavors with the involvement of the aroma.
Bigger flare: Able to smell a pear/citrus aroma with a tad bit of floral in the mix. Obviously, much easier to be able to smell the aroma effectively with the larger glass. The butter, oaky, and fruitiness of the chardonnay are exhibited through the effects of the aroma as well.
After setting up the five different sizes of glasses: Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
Shot glass: Hard to get a smell of aroma, but I could slightly smell the blackberry used in the cabernet sauvignon. In general, no real smell even with the strong aromas of a cabernet sauvignon. During the tasting, lots of bitterness at first but as I chewed the wine I tasted the cherry and blackberry of the wine. The taste is still good but it can be enhanced when aromas are present.
Short glass: A little bit easier to smell the wine's aroma, could smell the blackberry, whiskey, and a touch of a cherry aroma. During the tasting process, I tasted a lot of cherries, not much of anything else. Slight bitterness in the beginning but nowhere near the shot glass bitterness. Overall, tasted more fruitful with fewer flavors of whiskey and oak.
Tall thin: Honestly couldn't smell much of anything due to the glass. You can smell a bit of the tannin of the wine, but the glass is so full of air in a thin amount of space it's hard to pinpoint any specific aromas. During the tasting, lots of cherry flavors arrived from start to finish. Didn't experience much bitterness as expected and the fruitiness of the wine overwhelmed the taste of the wine.
Smaller flare: Much easier to smell the aromas of the wine. I smelled a mix of cherry and blackberry with a hint of whiskey. But the overwhelming amount of aromas smell of the mix of cherry and blackberry. During the tasting, there are the flavors of blackberry and raspberry, which almost makes a slightly sour taste to the wine, not overwhelming though. I would say the glass allows for different flavors to be presented during the tasting process.
Bigger flare: Easiest to smell out of, with aromas similar to the smaller flare but with a touch of oak during the smelling process. During the tasting, the overall fluidity of the wine was the best. Smooth taste from start to finish with cherry to whiskey flavors. The bigger glass allows for those aromas to evolve as the wine is swirled throughout the glass.
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