WineAdvisor: Does a wine glass need a stem?

... I can put (a tumbler) in the dishwasher, saving me snapping off the stem when I'm washing up, or putting my thumb through the side when I'm polishing the glass.

Re fingerprints: to say that fingerprints distort the colour is absurd, unless you have managed to soak your hands in dye before drinking. In fact, if you are leaving whopping great fingerprints all over the glass, perhaps you should consider washing your hands, as it is likely they may smell too, distorting the aroma of the wine.

Re warming the glass: ... If your hand is overly warming the wine before you drink, then you are either drinking too slowly, or filling your glass too much.

I thought I was only going to respond the end of this messages, but...

I'm concerned. What are you doing while washing dishes that makes you snap off the stems - or much more troubling... put your thumb through the glass!!!?? Yikes! Have another glass of wine.

I own the O glass. It is very pretty - for a few minutes. I attended a tasting featuring the O glass and everyone looked as though they were drinking from unwashed vessels. Not a good look. None of them were doing tie-dye.

We are here at this site because we are aethetes. Filthy-looking glasses affect one's ability to enjoy the full experience.

Lastly - drinking too slowly? I stopped chugging in college. OK - maybe grad school. But these days I'm not in a rush. That's part of the beauty of
this passion.

Cheers

As I see it, as long as it is made of uncolored glass, most any vessel will serve the basic purpose, and the rest depends on the occasion. Jelly glass for inexpensive Zin with barbeque outside; fine crystal for special occasions; specially shaped glasses for critical tasting and particularly fine wines. Having experimented with the Reidel stemless glasses in white and red wine sizes, I have two observations to offer readers: the first is that the oft-mentioned smeary fingerprints that accumulate are off-putting, at least as tacky as lipstick smears, and nowhere near as alluring. Second, a stemless glass with a large bowl is awkward to swirl, and even to hold comfortably if one's hands are average or smaller in size. My lady friend has this difficulty with the red wine O's, even though she's anything but a traditionalist in any area.

I don't probably know enough about wine and things winey to add my two cents legitimately, but, from where I sit as a neophyte wine-sipper, the ritual and celerity of wine are at least as important as the juice in the glass.

I'll drink wine out of a jug, or out of a mug, from any conveyance with a deep enough well to contain liquid; I'm not proud. But those considerations are just that. . .considerations. Considerations as to time, space, convenience or lack thereof, civility or lack thereof, comfort, or lack thereof. . .(I suspect you suspect a theme).

One of the things that distinguishes wine from other beverages is how we TREAT it. We bottle it a special way. . .we store it a special way. . .we open the containers in which it is stored a special way, although that is subject to change even as we speak; and, we serve it, very often, in special containers, which serve not just to convey the liquid to our mouths, but to do so with, one hopes, some elegance, some style, and--ideally--little spillage.

To hear that the "O" glasses, and others of their ilk are "just like" the stemmed glasses I have learned to fear, no; appreciate, no; LOVE, maybe a little, is a little "off-putting" to say the least. I suspect that Riedel is trying to be a little more approachable to everyone, and that is to be admired, but if general friendliness in wineware is what we're seeking, why not hire smiling demonstrators to say "be not afraid" in the various shops and bazaars where stemware goes to be injected into the wine-drinking life of modern man?

Suggesting that a Tumbler, no matter who it's made by is somehow co-equal with a stem is laughable on its face, quite apart from the issue of whether or not it's, ummmm, suitable.

It's not even at issue (for me) whether or not the tumbler gets smeary or the wine gets hot. I wash my hands with some regularity, so smeariness is not an issue, and, like some others, I hold my glass by the stem, NEVER the bowl (whether or not this is "snoblike" is another issue I care little about; I'm doing it anyway, and plan to continue to do so; call it what you will). But when I'm drinking wine, I'm drinking WINE, not Gin, or Vodka, or Tequila, or even Sherry.

And I might carry a tumbler full of Gin, or Vodka, or Tequila, all over the place with me during the times I debauch myself with those ignoble quaffs, but if I've a Sherry in my hand, it's in a Copita. If I'm having a nip of Champagne's best, it's in a flute. And when I'm sipping a draught of wine, it's in a stem. And the whole reason for it is, because that's the glass in which it belongs. . .a WINE glass. (which comes) With a stem. The end.

One post suggested that people rarely continue to hold the stem throughout the entire glass of wine. I then am a rarity. I always hold the stem.
I equate a stemless wine glass to drinking a martini in a paper cup.
Note: You can no longer use a Hyundai as a benchmark for poor quality. That, unfortuinately, is reserved for G.M., Chrysler, and Ford

I have drunk vino da tavola from heavy tumblers in Italian restaurants and bars in the countryside and it was entirely appropriate. The wine was simply a beverage like water or Coke to accomany the food.

But with a good Barolo, for instance, good stemware is called for, IMO.

There is a difference between swilling and tasting. It is akin to the difference between hearing music played in the background in some low fidelity medium like radio or MP3, and sitting there as an orchestra (or jazz ensemble, or...) plays for you. Observing niceties like clean glasses of agreeable form seems a suitable thing to do. (I liken the younger generation who seem unable to shut the **fzzk** up during movies and live musical performances, but rather sit there chattering to each other, often on cell phones, to the Visigoths....)

And I am another habitual stem-holder - I just do not like the grubby effect that results from holding the bowl.

And I have to laugh about your characterisation of American cars. Although we do have 2 American cars, the majority of the fleet is British and after decades of taking guff from American car fans, I can at last hold up my head and give them a good natured hard time for a change.

Joining the debate over whether or not you hold the stemware by the bowl at some point in time...

I can be a bit of a klutz. If I am in a social setting, drinking wine and walking around "mingling" I'm most likely holding the glass near it's lip, or with the bowl in my hand and the stem nestled between my middle and ring fingers so as to have better control of the contents. I tend to overfill which can (and often does) lead to sloshing when I'm not seated.

However, if I am seated at dinner or just with my feet propped up at the end of the day, I'll be holding that little beauty by the stem. Even in a social setting though, I'm going to stand still long enough to swirl, sniff and examine before I move away. So the issue of smears isn't really an issue for me but someone said something about lipstick on the glass - can't say I care for that either but I thought that is why you "blot" your lipstick in the first place - so you don't leave it behind on whatever (or WHOever) you 've had your lips pressed to.

That's my $0.02

Karen

I agree with Cynthia and while I sit here sipping my Cotes du Rhone, I am feeling very relaxed at contemplative at the end of the day ~

Karen

Hi Karennodaughters.

I have always felt that a great deal of the fun inherent in wine is all the various traditions mixed up in it. I like pulling a cork, rather than screwing off a top, checking to make sure the wine isn't corked, and pouring it into an attractive glass. I like swirling the wine, sniffing the wine, and handling the glass carefully because it is stemware.

If I just want to slop some booze down, I would rather pour a bourbon into a tumbler!

I have always felt that a great deal of the fun inherent in wine is all the various traditions mixed up in it. I like pulling a cork

Does anyone know if they have started marketing gold plated screwcap removers? If not, mark my words, they WILL.

Please send all royalties for this idea to.......

I have always felt that a great deal of the fun inherent in wine is all the various traditions mixed up in it. I like pulling a cork, rather than screwing off a top, checking to make sure the wine isn't corked, and pouring it into an attractive glass. I like swirling the wine, sniffing the wine, and handling the glass carefully because it is stemware.

If I just want to slop some booze down, I would rather pour a bourbon into a tumbler!

What happens if your 'various traditions' are at odds with wine quality, though, as is the case with corks?

For me, almost all the fun inherent in wine is that it taste good and interesting, the rest is detail.

I just like the way they look and they way they feel. They contribute to my enjoyment of drinking wine and set it apart from other beverages. Although I have done it, it never felt the same drinking wine from a milk glass or a beer mug or a water goblet (too thick).

Re Karen's observation about blotting lipstick, I also object strongly to lipstick being deposited on the bowl of a wineglass, no matter the context. However, I cannot think of a single time where I've objected to lipstick being deposited on ME, either lip or cheek, regardless of whether blotting occurred "pre-deposit."

I suppose it's true that men somehow differ from wineglasses. Whether or not that's a good thing is not for me to say.

However, I cannot think of a single time where I've objected to lipstick being deposited on ME, either lip or cheek, regardless of whether blotting occurred "pre-deposit."

I suppose it's true that men somehow differ from wineglasses.

I can forgive any deposit of lipstick on face, provided she handles me only by the stem in approved manner......

I think the Riedel "O" is a great glass for enjoying wine aboard a boat. Riding at anchor or even sailing at a moderate heel, it's practically tip-proof. And it's much more elegant that the plastic stemware many boaters resort to due to a fear of breakage.

I like both, but tend to use the stemless more at home.

Those that say you need a stem because your fingers warm the glass need to start drinking wine instead of sipping..then it won't matter!

I'm 100% in agreement with Walt. This is the first time I've used one and in that crowded setting, it was a stroke of genius. I don't recall the sound of even one glass falling to the ground and shattering.

Great idea for a picnic rather than plastic wine glasses. In the past, I've brought heavy-duty glass tumblers to such affairs as the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park. May try bringing the O's this year.