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Chapter XIX
Something of Liquor Glassware
Nothing enhances the festive board so much as the glass
ware to be used in serving the wines to be imbibed.
One outstanding and almost imperative rule is to provide
glasses of crystal clearness for nearly all the wines, the only
exceptions,possibly,being for the Alsatian and Rhine wines.
Moselle and Chabhs, in which cases glasses of very dehcate
yellow or palest green almost unnoticeable in either hue,
may be permissible.
Never use colored bowls for the other wines, nor any
gold, silver or fihgreed bowls. If you must insist upon any
engraving on your wine glasses, let it be the simplest of
monograms. Avoid the glass bowl of any type which con
ceals the rich colors of ruby,red, yellow,straw, gold, brown,
amber,red-brown, purple, crimson or opalescent wines. It is
the color which addsto the zest of wine,along with its aroma
or "bouquet."
Anything in the glass service which detracts from a dis
play of the color of wine is an abomination to the epicure and
connoisseur. It is decidedly in bad taste and evinces lack of
sophistication and culture.
Wine glasses are best the thinner and more fragile they
are, so far as the more dehcate vintages are concerned. For
the'hghter wines. Champagne and Sparkling Burgundy,the
stems are heavier, but the bowls holding the beverage should
be dehcate.
When serving formally, all the glasses to be used in the
courses should be placed in their order upon the table in
front of each guest, forming an array of sparkhng beauty
holding rich promise and adding greatly to the decorative
effect of the table.
As each glass is used and the contents fimshed with the
course, it should be removed and the next one for the next
course filled, emptied and similarly removed from table, so
that at the close of the feast only the cordial glasses and the
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