A couple of days ago, a promotional email arrived from a local restaurant popular with ex-pats and included photographs of merry diners enjoying their evening meal. Almost everyone in the photo had a glass of wine, but do you know? There were all holding their glasses wrongly. Now you might think it doesn’t really matter, but it does. Just as holding your knife and fork wrongly also matters – and you’d be surprised how many people don’t know the correct way to do that either.
The rule about wine glasses is simple. Never hold your wine glass by the bowl. Just don’t. It’s a social taboo. Some people assume that holding the bowl looks chic, but they are misguided. It doesn’t. We should always hold wine glasses by the stem. That is what the stem is for. There are several correct ways to hold a wine glass but you need to know only one. So please sit up straight and try to look as though you’re interested. Gently pinch the lower part of the stem between your thumb, index and middle finger, letting the other two fingers rest naturally on the base of the glass. Keep your hand positioned toward the lower half of the stem. This is a safe way to hold the glass and also socially acceptable.
But why? You might be asking. Well, there are several good reasons to hold you wine glass this way. One of the joys of wine is simply looking at it, for the appearance can tell you a lot – but not if your hand is covering the bowl and the glass is smothered with unlovely fingerprints. If you are at someone’s house, it is a common courtesy to keep the wine glass free of fingermarks. And I can tell you from personal experience that it’s no fun washing greasy fingermarks off the wine glasses in the kitchen, long after everyone has staggered off into the night.
But there’s a more important reason. When your hand is in contact with the bowl, the wine heats up more quickly. Everyone who enjoys wine knows that serving temperatures are critical and you’d be surprised how quickly a glass of wine warms up, especially in this climate. Recommended serving temperatures range from between 7-10 ̊ C for light dry whites, to 16-18° C for full-bodied reds. The average human skin temperature is 36-37° C which is obviously significantly warmer than the recommended temperature of any wine. By minimizing contact with the wine glass, you reduce the pace of heat transfer and preserve the correct temperature for much longer.
And there’s another thing. Complex wines need to be gently swirled around in the glass to release the aromas and tastes. This is more effortlessly accomplished when the glass is held at the stem. At wine tastings, you sometimes see wine professionals holding the glass by the base, pinching it between the thumb and forefinger. This awkward base-pinching hold is a bit tricky and needs a little practice to achieve with any degree of confidence, but it’s a bit impractical because your other hand is needed to put the glass down. Never hold the glass this way in a restaurant because it looks pretentious and would also make you look like a twat, especially if you manage to drop the glass.
Woolshed Merlot 2019 (red), Australia. Bt. 499 @ Tops/Central
In case you’re wondering, a “woolshed” is not simply a place where wool is stored, as I had previously assumed. It’s also the building where the sheep are sheared and where the wool is prepared and packed. Woolshed Winery was established in New South Wales in 1999 and it’s based in the town of Mudgee, which lies in the broad and fertile Cudgegong River valley 160 miles north-west of Sydney. I first tasted the Woolshed Merlot 2008 vintage about ten years ago. It was quite a decent wine with a pleasing appearance, plenty of fruit on the aroma and a light-bodied silky mouth-feel. Comparing my tasting notes for the 2008 and 2019 vintages reveals that the wines are pretty similar. This is not surprising, because producers of wines sold under a trade-name tend to favour consistency so that the customers know what to expect. What is more remarkable is that the price of the wine hasn’t changed.
At 13.5% ABV this light-to-medium bodied wine is a rich plum red colour and slightly oily in appearance. The aromas fairly leap out of the glass with loads of cherry and plum. There’s also a touch of herby spiciness that you often find in Merlot. On the palate, the wine is strikingly smooth and supple with plenty of fruit. The tannins are so restrained that some people might not even notice them. Unlike many mass-produced Australian wines, this one has a bit of character and stands out from the crowd. It’s not over-fruity and has a long and pleasantly dry soft finish. At this price, the wine is certainly worth a try and would make a fine accompaniment to beef or lamb dishes. Just be sure to hold your glass properly.
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