Wine glasses come in many shapes and sizes. The structure of the glass is designed to enhance the flavor and aroma of the wine so it is important to choose the right glass for the wine you are drinking. The shape of the glass determines several things: how much surface area is exposed to the air, how much wine can be swilled in the glass, how close your nose can get to the wine, and where the wine falls on your palate as you drink.

If you are drinking champagne for instance, it is proper to use a champagne flute. The champagne flute’s tall, narrow design forces our nose outside of the glass and causes the wine to fall further back on the palate as we tip our head back. In addition to keeping the wine carbonated, the narrow opening at the top of the glass minimizes the surface area that is exposed to the air and keeps the flavor clean and crisp. Since we want to slow oxidization in champagne, there is no need to have a wide bowl for swirling the wine around.

With white wines, a bit more reaction with the air is desirable so the glass is wider and shorter than a champagne flute. A white wine glass is designed to allow a moderate rate of oxidization, enough to release the bouquet of the wine while retaining its crispness. White wine glasses vary as much as the white wines themselves so it cannot be said that there is one standard. In some cases, like with a buttery chardonnay, a wider bowl that you can get your nose into is preferable and may not look like a white wine glass at all. Generally speaking, the crisper the wine is to be kept, that narrower the glass.

Finally, red wine glasses are generally the biggest, having wide bowls and large mouths. These glasses are designed so that a large surface area is exposed to the air and so that the wine can be swilled around to infuse more air while drinking. Some red wine glasses can be quite tall, forcing the wine to sit further down in the glass, keeping the aromas in the glass but the mouth is always wide enough to get your nose in there while taking a sip.

These are the three basic types of glasses and are representative of the spectrum. Between these glasses though there is every size, shape, and style imaginable, each enhancing their own varieties of wine.

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When I first asked the question, What is Resveratrol I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it’s derived from the skin of a red wine grape. Surely this must just be another angle for red wine lovers around the world to justify their need to consume more of their favorite tipple. That may indeed be the case but now that a number of respected bio scientists and Oprah Winfrey are singing its praises I realized that there may be more to this interestingly named ‘health food’ than meets the eye.

After further investigation I discovered some interesting facts about the consumption of red wine that many of you may not realize. There have been a number of studies to support the theory that moderate consumption of wine cuts death rates by up to 40% per year. I’m sure if you’re a wine lover then you will have been well aware of these claims and happily recite them whenever your spouse questions your occasional over indulgence. Now that they have actually identified and named the component that plays a major part in this theory, it all starts to sound a lot more interesting.

Before you dash out to your local liquor store all this needs to be put into perspective. So far Resveratrol has only been successfully tested on rats, mice and other similar ‘non human’ type characters. I’m not sure how they actually tested the rats but part of me hopes they allowed them to sample at least a small glass of Cab Sav before they started dissecting them. Anyway, it appears that Resveratrol had the effects of lowering the blood sugar, removed brain plaque (don’t ask!), increased cardiovascular function and generally helped to increase their life span.

That’s all very well, I hear you ask, but does this mean that you can now continue to consume vast quantities of the red ‘falling over’ liquid and if challenged by any loved ones play the ‘medicinal purposes’ card? Well, you could always try, you do need to keep in mind though that whilst the Resveratrol component of your consumption may indeed prolong your life, give your more energy and keep your grey matter clear of tooth decay you will still need to survive the missiles and torrents of abuse from your ever loving spouse.

Hopefully this has provided you with a better understanding of how Resveratrol can improve your live (and relationships!), for those that need more to ‘quench their thirst’ this link will provide you with more handy information.

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