The clear, transparent glass was invented around the 1450s, and before this invention, transparent glasses used to be coloured.
It was during this time that stemsPipe-like thing between the glass bowl and the base. started appearing on the glasses, seemingly inspired by the religious chalice.
Then in 1673, George Ravenscroft experimented with glass and invented a kind that was cheaper and didn’t require very high temperatures to work on.
His invention made intricate shapes & decorations possible on clear glass, while adding ‘prism-like’ shine to the glasses when light passed through them.
Now, until the early 1900s, people mostly ate dinner in candlelight & the visual experience of the light shining through the glass added greatly to the experience.
The higher the glass, the better the light effect, and so this led to stems getting longer & longer.
However, with the passing of plates and flipping of napkins, high stems meant regular spilling of wine, and so, the mouth of the glass became narrower to reduce the spill.
Additionally, the narrow rims caught more light (and enhanced the experience) and were believed to concentrate aromas around the rim, i.e. when we bring the glass closer to our nose, the harshness of gaseous ethanol is reduced.
And since taste is not only about the tongue, but also the noseTaste & smell are picked up by different receptors, but it is their combination that is interpreted by the brain to provide the perception of flavour. Source: Forbes, it was believed that the wine glasses added to the taste of the wine.
Despite many questioning the glass’ ability to enhance flavours, this has become a universally supported notion.
This concept got further support when in 2015, a team of Japanese researchers analysed different wines, in different glasses and found that both temperature and shape impacted the aroma.
At 13°C, for example, the alcohol concentration in the centre of the wine glass was lower than that around the rim.
Similarly, wine served at a higher temperature, or from the martini or straight glass, did not exhibit a ring-shaped vapour pattern.
And because the stem allows the drinker to hold the glass without touching the bowl, it prevents the higher temperature of the hand to transfer to the wine, thereby, affecting the experience.
