Lenox’s Drinkware Guide

Whether you use it for a cold drink of water by the pool on a hot summer day, a festive martini at an upbeat spring cocktail party, or a relaxing glass of wine in front of a winter fire, your drinkware is there with you for special moments, all year round. Because it is such a big part of your life, your drinkware should be comfortable to hold, a treat to sip from, and reflective of your personal taste. Plus, because your life is so busy, your drinkware should also be easy to care for and clean.

To help you select the perfect drinking glasses and champagne flutes for your lifestyle and décor, here’s a helpful drinkware guide:

Everyday drinkware:

The term “drinkware” refers to any vessels from which you drink—juice glasses, highball glasses, and crystal champagne flutes alike. Everyday drinkware is just that—everyday all-purpose glasses you can use for water, iced tea, orange juice, soda…you name it.

As you select your everyday drinkware, keep your practical needs in mind. Look for drinkware that’s easy to hold and sip from. If you have small children, look for glasses they will be able to grip and drink from easily, and stay away from tall vessels that can easily be knocked over; instead, you’ll want glasses with a heavier base that will resist tipping.

The durability of your drinkware should also depend on your individual needs. If it’s just you and your significant other, you might want to go for delicate drinkware made from thinner glass. If you have small children, on the other hand, you may want to think about drinkware made of thicker glass—slightly more expensive, but well worth the money.

Wine glasses:

Good quality wine glasses are imperative to getting the most out of a bottle of wine. Whether it’s a $300 bottle of Sauvignon blanc or a $15 bottle of merlot, you can improve your drinking experience—as well as the experience of your guests—by pouring it into wine glasses that are the appropriate shape and size for the blend. After all, different wine glasses are specially designed to bring out the flavor and aroma of different wines.

Luckily, the everyday wine drinker only needs three or four different shapes in his or her collection to have a match for every red, white and sparkling variety out there. Here’s a quick overview of which glasses go with which grape:

Tulip wine glasses:

Known by many wine drinkers as the “all-purpose” wine glass, tulip-shaped wine glasses (also referred to as a wine goblets) have a narrow opening to allow for wine swirling and to concentrate the wine’s aroma (or “bouquet”). Tulip wine glasses are ideal for merlot, cabernet and Bordeaux.

White wine glasses:

A smaller version of the tulip wine glass, the white wine glass, or the “non-oaked” white wine glass, is best used for chilled white wines that require less air exposure. White wine glasses are ideal for Chablis, chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc.

Wine tumblers:

While the wine glass traditionally has a stem to hold (to prevent your hand from heating up the wine), wine tumblers are a more casual alternative. In Italy, stemless glasses are used for both red and white wine.

Large-format wine glasses:

For wines that are “big” or “closed,” large balloon wine glasses offer maximum air exposure. They are usually used to serve red wines such as Burgundy, shiraz, pinot noir or syrah but also are perfect for serving chardonnays with an oaky finish.

Champagne flutes:

Sparkling wines are best served in narrow, festive champagne flutes, which help keep the champagne “bubbly” and emphasize the spirit of celebration. Available in tulip and trumpet shapes.

Champagne saucers:

Some say that the champagne saucer, also called a coupe, was inspired by Marie Antoinette’s breasts. Whatever the inspiration, this vintage shape is making a bit of a comeback.

Port or sherry wine glasses:

Port (or sherry) wine glasses are certainly not a necessity, but you may want to add them to your drinkware collection if you serve or enjoy dessert wines or aperitifs.

You may want to purchase additional styles for your wine glass collection if you have a passion for wines, enjoy a special kind of wine and want to show it off, or simply love collecting different styles of drinkware.

Cocktail glasses:

If you enjoy a nice liquor libation now and then, you can find a cocktail glass that perfectly serves your drink of choice. From shot glasses to highball glasses to brandy snifters, there is certainly no shortage of cocktail glasses out there for you to choose from. The question is, which cocktail glasses do you need in your collection? The answer depends on what you drink, how often you drink it, and the frequency with which you entertain.

The most popular drinks served in cocktail glasses are martinis, manhattans, margaritas and mixed drinks like rum and Coke and whiskey sours. These drinks sometimes have their own special glasses (particularly martinis and margaritas), but you can also serve them in all-purpose cocktail glasses.

Whiskey drinks, gin drinks, bourbon, Scotch and other liquors served on the rocks (over ice) are often served in cocktail glasses that are smaller and shorter, called double old fashioned glasses.

Highball glasses are taller than double old fashioned cocktail glasses, and they hold about 8 ounces. Most drinks served in highball glasses contain a mixture of hard liquor and water, soda or soda water.

Keep in mind that the above are merely cocktail glass guidelines, not rules. You do not have to serve a drink in its proper glass. So if you’re more concerned with the style of cocktail glasses than with their proper use, you can simply browse through Lenox’s website and select the style of drinkware that suits you best.

Crystal vs. glass drinkware:

The primary difference between glass and crystal stemware is its lead composition. The definition of what constitutes glass vs. crystal varies from country to country. In Europe, stemware that has 4-10 percent lead is labeled as glass, pieces with an 8-10 percent lead content are called lead glass, fine stemware with 10-30 percent lead is called crystal, and glass with more than 30 percent lead is lead crystal. In the United States, the definition is less strict—any glass with more than 1 percent lead is labeled crystal. You can also buy environmentally friendly lead-free crystal stemware in this country.

For fine wine drinkers, fine crystal stemware is probably worth the investment; crystal wine glasses are the highest quality, and they maximize the flavor and aromas of the best wines. Plus, crystal stemware is available in a variety of gorgeous shapes and patterns, making it a lovely addition to any kitchen. The biggest downsides to crystal drinkware are its cost and maintenance—it must be carefully hand washed and dried.

A few drinkware tips:

Whether you’re buying fine crystal stemware for a specific variety of wine or discounted drinkware you plan to use to serve a range of beverages, you’ll want your glasses to last. Here are some tips on how to get the most from your drinkware:

• Keep drinkware as clean as possible. No matter what you’re drinking, from ginger ale to chardonnay, it will taste best in a clean glass, free of detergent residue. Although you can put most drinkware in the dishwasher, for maximum cleanliness, you should wash and dry it by hand.

• In most cases, you should hold a wine glass by the stem; you can make an exception and cup the bowl if you are drinking a red wine that you want to keep warm or a white wine that feels a bit too chilled.

For an extensive selection of drinkware, from discounted drinkware to fine crystal stemware, all in a variety of beautiful patterns, go to www.lenox.com.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 6:06 pm and is filed under Drinkware. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.