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TableTact

Dining Guide / Table Setting

How to Hold a Wine Glass

Hold a stemmed glass by its stem. Your hand won’t warm the wine, and the bowl stays free of fingerprints.

Try what you’ve read in questions based on real dining situations. · 6 min

Practice: Glasses and Wine
How to Hold a Wine Glass

Key Points

  1. Hold a wine glass or other stemmed glass around the middle of the stem, between your thumb, index, and middle fingers.
  2. Holding the stem keeps your hand from warming the wine and leaves no fingerprints on the bowl, so you can enjoy its color and aroma.
  3. A tumbler or other glass without a stem can simply be held near its base as usual.
  4. Dab your lips with your napkin before you sip, and the rim of your glass stays clean.
  5. For a formal toast, raise your glass to about eye level and make eye contact. Fine, thin glasses chip easily, so they usually aren’t clinked.

Do

  • Hold the middle of the stem with your fingertips
  • Dab your lips with your napkin before sipping
  • Raise your glass to eye level for a toast

Avoid

  • Grabbing a stemmed glass by the bowl
  • Clinking fine glasses hard
  • Lifting your glass while it’s being poured

Handy Tip

Sip from the same spot on the rim each time. Any mark stays in one place and the glass looks tidy.

Customs That Vary

At casual restaurants and relaxed gatherings, many people hold the bowl, and that’s perfectly fine. Glasses are often clinked lightly in a toast, too — follow the host and those around you.

Practice in a Lesson

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