Eleganza, Educazione e Stile… per essere perfetti | The etiquette of glasses

Elegance at the table starts with knowing and respecting the rules that are the expression of our culture and our lifestyle. 

In traditional etiquette, the glasses ‘allowed’ at the table, for each place setting, are a minimum of two and a maximum of five; we never set the table with glasses that we do not use so as not to crowd the table and not to confuse our guests. At the Academy of Ceremonial, in the lessons on table setting and hospitality, we teach that the positioning of glasses is an important aspect that follows precise rules.  The glasses should be arranged obliquely, starting from the right in front of the diner, in ascending order of size. The water glass should be in the direction of the tip of the knife; immediately afterwards, again on the right, the wine glasses should be placed. Behind this will be the flute or bubble glass. The glasses should be placed about 2-3 cm apart to avoid bumping into each other and to facilitate serving.

The larger, sturdier water glasses, tumbler or chalice, are designed for quick sipping, while wine glasses with their particular shape, depending on whether the wine is white, rosé or red, help to decant specific properties of the wine. We will therefore choose a Rhenish or tulip-shaped glass for a white wine, a tulip-shaped glass for a rosé, and a ballon or gran ballon if it is a full-bodied and structured red wine, to favour oxygenation.

The peculiarities of each type of goblet determine a different impact between the wine and the mouth: this is why there are various shapes that enhance the characteristics of the wine and allow for an ideal tasting from the point of view of colour, aroma smell and taste.

A careful choice of glass not only enhances the qualities of the wine, but also underlines our respect and consideration for the beverage we are consuming. And as Napoleon Bonaparte said: ‘Nothing makes the future so rosy as contemplating it through a glass of Chambertin’.