The Wine Glass Makes A Difference

The Right Glass

Drinking wine from the right glass, or at least, a good glass, makes a difference. Joseph Phelps Vineyard published a wonderful blog; Choosing The Right Glassware 

Seeing this blog brought me back to a wonderful experience we had at Phelps Vineyards back in 2013. Those of you that are fans of this blog know that Phelps is a special place for Susan and I. Back in the 1980’s we fell in love with the place. Our  daughter Jennifer was born in California in 1984. In 2013 when Jenn and her husband Ethan, were expecting their first child, we visited the Napa valley. Beforehand, in arranging for a tasting, I wrote Phelps a note about our connection to Phelps, how we bought a 3 liter bottle of Phelps cabernet in 1984 when Jenn was an infant and celebrated her 16th birthday with that bottle. In my note I also mentioned that Jenn was expecting and the plan was for her to reveal the sex of the baby while we were at Phelps. I only lied a little. As a result, Phelps went above and beyond sharing several special wines and also giving us an excellent class on glassware.

Jenn and Ethan Announcing “Baby Boy Begun” at Phelps Vineyard

A few side-notes:

  • Jenn is still upset with me for scheduling a trip to the Napa Valley while she was pregnant and not able to enjoy the wines. In her defense, she was a great designated driver.
  • I don’t know if it was payback, but during our next family trip to Cabo San Lucas, our son Brian’s wife Lauren was pregnant with their first and while Jenn got to enjoy learning about good tequila, poor Lauren got to be the DD.
  • Our godson Mike Schuler and his then Fiancé, Jessica joined us on that Napa trip and the changed their wedding registry as a result of the Phelps class on glassware.

Note: the wine glasses featured in the “Feature Photo” are Jessica and Mike’s “wedding  registry” glasses

Brian, Lauren, Jennifer, Ethan, Jessica and Mike getting ready to learn about wine glasses

Following are some excerpts from the Phelps blog. I like to say that I only drink from the glasses recommended, but the truth is, we tend to be a bit more practical. We try to follow the principals learned, but the practicality of entertaining with “dishwasher safe” glasses just makes more sense. I also need to confess, that while I enjoy wine from expensive/thin glasses, being a bit of a clutz, has led to my breaking more glasses than I want to admit.

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