Decanters, glass, and stemware

Hello from a new forum member.

I have been blowing glass since 1993 (lampworked borosilicate) and want to learn more about what shapes of stemware are prefered for what kind of wine, as well as styles of decanters. I have done some searching on this site, and already found one good link:
http://www.aromadictionary.com/articles ... ticle.html

Welcome, good to see another Canadian here. You are going to get plenty of advice on this subject for sure. All wine tasters have their favourite glasses and decanter. I have a cupboard full of both!!...and I sometimes wonder what made me buy that glass!!
You have no doubt heard of Riedel, a company out of Austria, who specialise in certain glasswear for that special wine. However in the meantime , check out Chris Kissicks website here..............

http://www.thewinedoctor.com/advisory/o ... sses.shtml

Brian,

I actually prefer the carafe for decanting, as the surface area exposed is moderate, which is preferable for the older Burgunides and Bordeaux that I like. A large surface area may be OK for Port and some young wines, but in general, I think it is far from ideal for most mature wines!

As for glasses, after MUCH experimenation (ahem! ) I have settled on the Reidel Vinum Burgundy, and the Ravenscroft Sommelier Bordeaux (not their "grand cru" model though). I think the Reidel Vinum Bordeaux is exactly the same in size and shape, but a little heavier overall. I think you can find illustrations for these on a site like http://www.kitchendirect.com ...Paul

I have been making wine glasses for years, and one of my friends in Kitchener is a big wine buff, but he never wanted my wine glasses because I usually work gold and silver into the glass for colouring. He had also asked me about a decanter/caraffe (I don't know the difference) for letting the wine breathe.
Is decorative work on the top half of the bowl of the glass acceptable, or should the whole thing be clear? If glasses in a set vary slightly in size and/or shape, can I still call them a set?
My avatar is a close-up of one of my marbles, and I can make a wide variety of things in the stems, from flowers and butterflies, to the skulls. What kind of demand is there for custom wine glasses?

My general impression is that the great majority of wine lovers love the colors of wines and dislike anything that detracts from that beauty.

My wife and I have a number of beautiful art works made totally or partially from glass, but for us, simplicity in the wine glass ware is important. We even prefer a plain glass beaker for decanting, and rarely use a fancy, antique decanter.

Do you have a website displaying your work? I've googlized "Brian Newman" and find lots of messages to and from you, but no sign of your work.

Regards, Bob

Welcome, Brian! I'm a relative newbie to WLDG also but have found the forums to be lively, informative and fun. My uncle was a glassblower for over 40 years with CorningGlass, and I still have a few pieces he made. What an exquisite and difficult passion! When my husband and I were in Venice we visited the Murano glass works and purchased a lovely red vase to commemorate our anniversary. I cherish it! Like Bob, we have several beautiful pieces of colored glass art, but when it comes to wine glasses or carafes, it's crystal clear for us. The singular "color" I want to see is from the wine!

Since you indicated that you work gold and silver into the glass and/or decorate the area of the rim or top half of the glass, my personal feelings are that a slender trim of gold or silver might be acceptable near the rim, but I would not want any design or coloration to interfere with my visual perceptions of the wine in the glass. I have no particular interest in custom designed stemware. So long as they are suited for the wine I am serving and enhance the wine's visual clarity, I'm a happy camper.

Brian,
I think almost everyone here will say "plain glass" for regular wine glasses. That may not hold true, however, for dessert wines. It would not offend me, for example to drink madiera, port, ice wine, etc... from a small glass with gold decoration. In fact, our hosts at a small winetasting party served their 1875 madiera from small glass with substantial gold inlays. Very impressive.
As to slight variations that demonstrate that these are hand blown, I would think that would not be a problem at all. Charming actually.
If you want to see a large number of glasses, decanters, etc. you should check out the wine enthusiast catalog on-line, which has a section on wine glasses, and one on decanters. It is:
http://www.wineenthusiast.com/templates ... CCEE770A28
You might also think of making glasses for wine tastings. Perhaps someone here can point you to the wine tasting glass that is stemless, but not like a Riedel O glass.
And for decanters, I don't recall seeing any designed for double decanting, with a pouring lip or spout to pour the wine back into the wine bottle.
Good luck. Let us know what you come up with.

Do you have a website displaying your work? I've googlized "Brian Newman" and find lots of messages to and from you, but no sign of your work.

There seem to be many people with my name, but I found nothing from me on the first page with a Google search.

The closest thing to a website I have to offer is a link to a thread in the glass lampworkers discussion group, or "thegldg"

http://www.thegldg.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1618

Borosilicate glass is clearer than regular soda-lime glass is to start. It is even clearer than leaded crystal. If optical clarity is key, the best choice is fused quartz. This usually only gets used for special applications like fibre optics and high temperature labware, as it has a softening temperature of around 1800 C. Even with a hydrogen/oxygen flame the size of my arm, I was barely able to shape it.

"There seem to be many people with my name, but I found nothing from me on the first page with a Google search."

I searched on "brian newman" +glass and your name comes up first, Brian. And the discussion group you mention. Thanks for the information.

Regards, Bob