Dear Jacquelyn,

I will be going wine tasting for the first time. Is there a proper way to hold a wine glass?

Dear Reader,

Having a nuanced understanding of how to handle a wine glass the proper way will enhance your experience with wine, whether it’s with white wine, red wine or sparkling wine.

Learning to hold your wine glass the right way has multiple benefits other than just looking fancy.

Before learning how to properly hold your wine glass, it’s important to understand why you do so. Handling your glass properly helps get the most out of your wine experience.

Holding a wine glass properly preserves the wine’s temperature. Your hands, especially your palms give off heat.

Therefore, holding a wine glass with too much skin contact can alter the wine’s temperature, which is critical for bringing out a wine’s intended flavor profile.

Holding a wine glass properly also helps enhance flavor.

Swirling is key and encourages the aeration of wine. That’s important to note since our sense of smell is more responsible than taste in the perception of flavor.

All wine glasses are held by the stem. Hold the stem using your thumb and the first two fingers. When you hold the wine by the stem, you keep the wine at the right temperature.

Only the thumb, the index finger and the middle finger should come into contact with the glass stem. This is to maintain a balance and for comfortability.

Stemless wine glasses are essentially the same as other wine glasses, but they too have a proper way of handling them. Hold your stemless wine glass from the middle of the glass or the top. This is the opposite of holding a stemmed wine glass.

To avoid making a mess or spilling, do not hold this glass from the bottom. Wrapping your whole hand around the glass is the wrong way to hold it and can cause unwanted heating of the drink.

Lastly, when sipping your wine, look directly inside the glass. Looking at someone else while sipping wine is considered impolite.

Respectfully Yours,

Jacquelyn

Have a question? Email: jacquelyn@ptd.net. Jacquelyn Youst is owner of the Pennsylvania Academy of Protocol, specializing in etiquette training.

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