By Julianna Hayes
Grape Expectations
A few years ago while stemware shopping, I was checking out the selection at a local department store when I spotted a particularly impressive glass.
Perched on an elongated stem, the expanse of crystal from the base of the wide bowl to its tapered opening glinted and sparkled in the light. It was a thing of beauty, but with one caveat. This thing was mighty enough to hold more than a third of a bottle of wine, dispensing with any need for a decanter at your table.
I held one up to inspect it and, though visually stunning, it was cumbersome, top heavy and downright ridiculous. I remember thinking that if this was the answer to stemware for present day imbibers, why don’t they just drink out of a pitcher and be done with it.
Since then I have noticed a curious trend toward elephantine drinking glasses – vessels more suited to housing fish than wine. While I get that people like them for esthetic reasons, many of these glasses are awkward to store, don’t fit properly in the dishwasher and tend to tumble over and break.
If that isn’t deterrent enough to avoid them, then consider the findings of a recent North American study: Large wine glasses, it seems, are driving us to drink.
Just as supersizing your fries leads you to ingest more thigh-widening fat than you may have intended, supersizing your stemware can spur you to inadvertently drink more, according to the U.S. Department of Health. This is especially true of young imbibers, whom the study found are less likely to pay close attention to their consumption.
Until a few years ago the standard measure of wine in a pub or restaurant was the 125 ml glass, but now many people use 175 ml to 250 ml glasses.
I have noticed that some local establishments will carefully measure out the wine before serving it. They do this mostly for financial reasons, as they can ill afford to fill these glasses for the same price. But there are others who still free pour and sometimes you get far more than you might have bargained for. And now with the stricter drinking and driving laws, it’s critically important for servers and imbibers to be fully aware of how much is in the glass.
However, the real danger for oversize stemware is at home. People don’t think twice about filling their goblets to the rim – they’ve been conditioned to believe that having a glass or two of wine a day is ok, even healthy. But since the larger of these will hold a third of a bottle or more, it throws that whole principle out of whack.
Nick Gully, director of addiction services at the U.S.-based clinic says many well-adjusted, functioning people are inadvertently and unwittingly developing a problem over time.
But, can we really blame the abuse of alcohol on the size of the glass?
I consulted a wine forum where a few bloggers were scandalized by the suggestion:
“A large glass does not an alcoholic make. Not knowing when you have had enough is the problem. Don’t blame an inanimate object for human weakness.” – Ryk, London
The link between wine glass size and a rise in alchoholism is sketchy at best. This is a silly theory and not really news worthy if you ask me.” – Phillip, USA
“The problem is how much is poured into the glass, not the size of the glass.” – Paul, USA
There’s another factor complicating the issue – the percentage of alcohol in wine has been rising substantially in recent years. While some local waterholes and eateries have pledged to add “lighter” wines to their menus in light of the new tough roadside prohibitions, the dismal fact is there are few of these wines on the market.
The demand for bigger body and more intensity in wine’s flavour profile by consumers has resulted in winemakers and viticulturalists seeking riper fruit with higher sugar content. But that translates into more alcohol, giving wines a much bigger bite than they had 25 years ago. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find many whites in the 10 per cent alcohol range and far fewer reds. Okanagan reds easily top the 14 per cent level and 15-16 per cent-plus is not unheard of.
All this adds up to more alcohol entering our blood streams than is wise – based on the old “glass or two” of wine a day ideal. And I won’t get into all the extra calories.
But as with anything, it’s all about personal control and moderation. Just as you have to avoid supersizing at the drive-thru to keep your cholesterol and belt loops in check – the same applies for wine.
You can’t simply blame the glass.
