How to Use our Stemware

The Gusto Glass

Drinking with Gusto should feel natural. But if it doesn't here's some quick tips on how to best drink with your new favorite glass. Decanting younger wines prior to serving will greatly improve the experience when drinking from our glasses, especially if you don't plan on following the wine in the glass for an extended period of time. Since the Gusto glass has been scientifically designed for the best possible drinking experience, there is actually a correct way to drink from it! 

Gas Phase Physics, Aerosol Chemistry, the Air-Liquid Interface, Fluid Dynamics, and Air-Water Partitioning all play roles in our glass design; let’s just simplify all this below.

When the glass is full or has a considerable amount of liquid left, the glass should be used by tilting to pour at the rim with your bottom lip just touching the outside of the rim while your nose is just inside the opening. The smaller opening is designed to just cover the nose with only a small amount space for air exchange around the nose and mouth. This tighter fit around the nose is by design and one our most unique features so that the aroma of the beverage can be focused along with a well controlled sip, as a good portion of the sense of taste is mediated by the sense of smell! 

Don't worry, this won't increase any alcohol perception. This design actually decreases any perceived alcohol "heat" during consumption as ethanol vapor is heavier than the components of "air" such as oxygen, and the shape of the bowl keeps these vapors from entering the top of the glass in high concentrations. Many of the aroma compounds in wine are carried by these ethanol vapors but will interact with air in the glass to disperse and become more detectable to our noses, which is done in a controlled and purposeful fashion due to our glass shape. So with only small areas for air ingress, the alcohol vapor layer will not be disturbed and will remain on top of the liquid but below the air and much less will enter your nose or mouth when the aroma compounds that are now present in the air do, leading to a clearer perception of the flavors and aromas of every wine.

However, once the liquid remaining in the glass decreases and you are left with only the last couple sips, the best way to drink that is by opening your mouth wider at the lip and keeping your nose outside of the opening and tilting the glass significantly to pour the rest into your mouth. This makes it so you don't experience the heat of the ethanol fumes at the bottom of the glass and also so that any dried residual sugars or wine on the sides of the glass don't encompass the last sips as they often can in a normal wine glass, which leads to the perception of a warmer, more alcoholic and syrup-y last sip of a wine. The glass design will also trap any sediment at the bottom of the bowl so you can choose not to take this last sip so you don't consume any sediment that may be in the glass when drinking older wines. Our glassware design retains the Sense of Place of your wines even with the last sip in the glass.