Whether it’s a stemmed goblet, stemless wine glass, Mason jar or tumbler, there’s an endless list of glassware to choose from after uncorking your favorite bottle of wine. But is there a “right” or “wrong” when choosing a glass to sip from?

Recently – on Wine Chat TV – our Wine Sisterhood Personal Sommelier Erin Sullivan, sat down with Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson to talk about the science behind the “perfect” wine glass. Here is some insight from their conversation about how Andrea developed “The One,” her new line of stemware that includes just two glasses – one for red and one for white.

Feeling overwhelmed by all the choices?
Even as a Master Sommelier, and one of only 17 female Master Sommeliers in the world, Andrea says that when it comes to wine, you can never know everything about it – and that’s the exciting part!

“I felt like for a lot of people stemware had become as complicated, expensive and as intimidating as the wine itself,” says Andrea. “To the point where you need a wing on your house to have every ‘correct’ stem for the right wine.”

What makes a good wine glass?
According to Andrea, glasses should be about simplification without compromising performance. In her work as a sommelier, she stresses that enjoying a glass of wine should be all about the wine and not about the glass.

“How you taste a wine has everything to do with your nose,” she says. Bigger bowls are used for red wines to better aerate the wine and them show their “true colors.” For white wines, it’s important to have a smaller opening and smaller size glass to preserve the chill and enhance the delicacy of the wine’s aroma. 

How do you begin to design a wine glass?
Andrea and her husband, John Robinson, spent three years studying wine glasses, specifically what it was about their design that aided performance. In the end, they compiled all of the best elements of the best performing glasses and put them all together.

They tested their new creation for about two years against the top-rated stems on the market with every style, color, appellation of wine imaginable. The glasses were also tested in blind tastings with Master Sommeliers and Masters of Wine around the country, who were literally blindfolded so that they couldn’t see what type of glass they were using.

The final product
“The One” is Andrea’s stemware line – two glasses, one for red and one for white – what Andrea calls her “labor of love.”

The white and red glasses have a similar shape, but their different sizes are designed to bring out the hard work of the winemaker, without losing any detail, fragrance or complexity of the wine in the glass.

As a mom of three, it was important for Andrea that the glasses be practical. Along with their performance, her stemware’s simplicity, affordability and the fact that it is dishwasher safe are all qualities she is proud of. 

Listen to Erin and Andrea’s conversation in our latest Wine Chat TV episode.

Special for Wine Sisters: Use code “WINESISTER2012” for 10% discount and free shipping on 2 four packs or more when ordering on Andrea’s site andreawine.com.