Vessels made for the consumption of wine have been around for as long as wine itself. Baked clay pottery, animal horns, leather gourds, shaped copper, silver, and gold cups, even lead and pewter goblets. Throughout history, humankind has used these as a means to get wine into their mouths without seeming uncouth by drinking straight from the much larger storage vessel.
As far back as 50 A.D., Pliny the Elder of Rome, ancient author and scientist, tells us that glass was emerging as the esteemed vessel for holding wine. However, glass was one of the most highly valued materials of the ancient world, as the technology of the day made glassmaking an intensive and expensive process.
The earliest surviving version of a wine glass with a base, stem, and foot, is a goblet from the 15th Century. Today, glass is easy to manufacture, which makes it easily affordable. But even just a few hundred years ago, wine glasses made of glass were as expensive as their precious metal counterparts.
As glass became easier and cheaper to produce during the Industrial Revolution, manufacturers began producing sets containing a dozen glasses. Not only could the working class suddenly afford a set of wine glasses, but sets of port and sherry glasses, cordial glasses, champagne flutes, goblets, snifters and liqueur glasses all became inexpensive.
|  |
By this time glass was the definitive material for wine glasses. People could relish the color and body of the wine, which is a significant part of getting full enjoyment from every glass. Glassware could be shaped specifically to capture the bouquet of particular types of wines as well, which further enhanced the wine drinking experience.
Since nearly everyone acknowledges glass as the preeminent material for wine glasses, most of the innovative ideas of the past are obsolete. Some of them are even a tad bizarre. This short list of some of history's more interesting wine glasses is borrowed from a fun filled history of the wine glass provided by Gurdies Winery in Australia:
- Cocoa nut and ostrich egg cups - both have been made into silver encrusted cups.
- Wine tasters - small flat silver bowls with handles on each side. From the Medieval days, made for tasting the contents of serving bowls to convince guests that nothing was poisoned.
- Dice glasses - have two dice sealed into the base. Used in old taverns to settle who pays for the purchases.
- Tappit-Hen or Stirrup Cup - a tankard with a cup shaped lid originating in Scotland. Used to send off guests with a final drink, the lid keeping it safe on a horseback ride.
- Piggin - a small leather cup from the Middle Ages.
- Noggin - a small wooden mug that held 1/4 pint.
- Bombard - a tall, richly decorate vessel that held several gallons.
While some of these sound fun and certainly served a purpose, the wine glass evolved for a reason. Glass allows light to pass through to illuminate the wine for titillating visual appeal. The shape and size of the glass creates the ideal bouquet, drawing out the subtlest aromatic and flavor attributes. In short, wine drunk from a glass looks, smells, and tastes better. So unless it's for sheer novelty, it's best to stick to the glass.
