11-19 Hold it Like a Man

My husband titled this article for me when I told him my topic for today. It seemed fitting, since what I'm about to share with you convinced him to hold his glass properly, as any man should.

Wine etiquette says that one is supposed to hold the glass by the stem, not by the bowl (the part that holds the wine). Most casual drinkers would rather not worry so much about etiquette, and I understand the holding your glass by the stem often encourages the pinkie to raise kind of like you are drinking tea with the queen, but please take just a minute to digest the following reasons to pay attention to etiquette.

1. When you hold your glass by the bowl, you increase the temperature of the wine. This is a more appropriate reason not to hold your white wine glass by the bowl, as most everyone likes their white wine cold, but it also plays a part in red wine. Raising the temperature of your wine heightens all of its aromas and tastes. If you are drinking inexpensive wine, you will most likely have increased unpleasant aromas and tastes, which never benefits your tasting experience. On that note, and off topic, you can always chill a wine you're not ecstatic about a little bit more to see if you like it better.

2. Holding your glass by the bowl leaves ugly finger prints all over it. Remember that glass is (usually) clear, and when you are walking around at a cocktail party you are probably touching many different foods, people and surfaces that will leave significant filth on your hands. All of this grime will transfer right onto your glass and leave unpleasant smudges for your fellow partygoers to gawk at. If you are out on the prowl and a little nervous around the person that your are speaking with, this will only worsen those finger prints for sure.

3. And finally, the way I was able to convince my husband to hold his glass by the stem was by toasting with him. He was holding his glass by the bowl on one of our early dates, and I told him to stop and listen a minute while we toasted. For this experiment, and only for this experiment, I also held my glass by the bowl. When our glasses hit one another it gave a dull thump, not a noise to be combined with the phrases "Cheers", "Salud", or "Prost". Then I had him repeat the toast with me, this time holding both glasses by the stem. A beautiful chime rang from our glasses and continued to resonate a few moments. Next time you toast, do you want a dull thump, or a beautiful chime to go along with your "Kampai"? (That's cheers in Japanese.) I suggest you hold it like a man, or (wo)man.