Have you ever given much thought to the shape of your wine glass? Or has it always just been a case of “the bigger the better”? Contrary to common belief, bigger is actually not always better when it comes to glassware. The shape of a particular glass has everything to do with the olfactory system – AKA smelling the wine.

First things first: never, ever drink out of a stemless glass, you classless Neanderthal. Remember, the reason wine glasses were fashioned with stems in the first place was to prevent body warmth from changing the temperature of the wine.

Just kidding. But, hey, if you respect the science (wine can be so annoyingly science-y, can’t it?).

The architecture of wine glasses has to do with achieving the highest quality tasting experience possible. As you know, you can’t taste without smell, and that’s exactly what the shapes of specific glasses do. They give your nose a chance to fully understand and appreciate the wine.