How To Hold A Wine Glass (And What You’ve Been Doing Wrong)

Forget everything you’ve seen in the movies about how wine glasses are held, ‘cuz we’re about to tell you how to do it right.

As badass as Cersei looks, holding her wine glass out like a boss for more wine, that may not be the best (or socially acceptable) way to hold a wine glass. Someone had to say it #sorrynotsorry.

Before we tell you how to hold a wine glass properly, let’s look at all the Don’ts that’ll earn you a chorus of tsks from the wine connoisseurs.

“Thirsty AF”

No explanations needed – holding a wine glass with both hands and chugging your wine like you haven’t drank anything in a week. This is a huge no-no, no matter how thirsty or amazing the wine tastes.

“I’m-So-Fancy”

Just look at that pinky! Contrary to popular belief, holding your pinky out when drinking ANY beverage doesn’t actually affect the drinking experience. You sure look faaaaancy, but seriously don’t.

“Whiskey Drinker”

Although they’re both alcohols, holding a wine glass is vastly different from holding a whiskey glass the Gentleman’s way – by the bowl.

Jokes aside though, It’s not so much about looking cool or Bougee, but there’s actually a science behind why people hold wine glasses a certain way and we’ll tell you why.

Hold the glass by the stem

Avoid touching the bowl of the glass and hold the stem only, with your thumb and forefingers. Alternatively, you can pinch the stem.
Temperature is the key. There’s a reason why wine is drunk in a glass with such a long stem, and that’s to prevent your body heat from affecting the perfectly-chilled wines. When your fingers or palms touch the bowl of the glass, the temperature increases and this changes the taste of the wine (in a bad way).

This is especially important since Singapore’s weather is just plain hot all year round, so even chilled wine becomes warm really fast. And that’s something you don’t want to encourage by touching the bowl of your glass. I mean, have you ever tasted a warm Chardonnay? Guuuuurl no.
Swirl with ease

Holding the bowl of the glass and swirling although makes you look fancy, but actually reduces the control you have over the wine – usually resulting in a lot of spills. What you’d want to do is hold the stem of the glass, and it forces you to make smaller movements. This means better swirls and the aromas from the wine can be better detected as well.
Just ‘cuz it looks better

Holding the wine glass by the stem ensures there are no fingerprints or grease on the glass. Plus, you'll then be able to see the colour of your wine better, especially for aged wines that may have an orangey hue due to the ageing process.

In the event that your wine is served in a stemless glass, no need to panic, you can just hold it the normal way you’d hold a glass.

The proper way to hold a wine glass definitely makes the experience a lot more enjoyable since you’ll be able to drink the wines at the perfect serving temperature and let the aromas develop better.

Now go forth and spread the good word! Maybe tell Leo too, because noooooo that ain’t right. Just kidding, who could resist that smile though? Ugh. There’s no going back on wine etiquette from here, and that’s alright. You gotta flex that wine knowledge and show you know your stuff!