Wineglasses can serve many diverse purposes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/11/2013 (4379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Vessels.

Some think of ships or boats when they hear that word. Others envision large pitchers or jars, generally ones in which to store, for however long or short a time, something in fluid form.

And while I’d think of the latter one, too, my mind immediately turns to wineglasses. (Sounds pathetic, I know, but that’s just the way I roll.)

I guess technically I should extend “wineglasses” to include snifters, tumblers — really, glass or crystal containers of any kind that can hold liquids. I have kind of a thing for wineglasses, which might not seem strange to anyone familiar with my proclivity for wine. But this obsession with vessels started long before I was really into wine.

I couldn’t resist the sparkling surfaces, the glistening reflections, the twinkling prisms that danced from these wondrous cups. Creative designs, elegant shapes, something funky and inventive — I have to have them all. (And I do. At last count I owned 172 wineglasses! My goal at some point in my life is to have a real blow-out party and use all of them at once. Because some of them, gorgeous though they are, have never been out of their packages. Which is ridiculous. But I have no will power when it comes to wineglasses. So that already ridiculous number is likely to increase. However, I digress.)

While I love wineglasses for the purpose for which they’re designed, I’ve also come to realize in recent months that these lovely containers have multiple uses.

The point was really driven home to me at few months ago at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba’s 25th Annual Fundraising Gala, Puttin’ on the Ritz. I was honoured to be the MC for the evening’s festivities, but when we were set to begin, despite numerous calls for folks to take their seats so we could get started, I was summarily ignored by several attendees. Now don’t get me wrong — organizers LOVED the fact that people around the room were looking at art, bidding on art, talking about art, and just generally having a great time. But the very patient Victoria Inn staff was waiting to serve supper, and there were some things that had to be attended to before that could happen.

So my friend Natalia Lebedinskaia, who’s also the AGSM’s curator, jumped to her feet with an empty wineglass in one hand and a knife in the other. (This was one of those fabulous large wineglasses that are all the rage now, presumably to allow wine to breathe and aerate more readily.) She ran to me at the lectern and handed both of them over. It only took me a moment to realize what she was suggesting.

I backed away from the microphone, held up the glass in front of it and started tapping the knife blade on the bowl. The sound was unbelievable! Bright and true and LOUD, which was what we needed. All conversation in the room ceased, and now that I FINALLY had people’s attention, I tinked the glass again, both to show them I meant business AND because the tone and timbre of the resulting ring was so impressive.

The effect was incredible! People took their seats, actually listened as I made some brief opening remarks, and then proceeded to enjoy the food, the company, and the rest of the evening.

I haven’t been able to forget that sound. It was remarkable. It would have been amazing without the mic, but amplified — wow! It was something else.

So should you ever need to get the attention of a crowd, that’s one extra use for a wineglass. Another I’ve come across is decorative. I had a friend who built what was essentially a small terrarium in a big wineglass. It looked gorgeous on her side table — it was its own little self-contained world, and the fact that this adornment was on a stem, seemingly floating above the solid cupboard on which it sat, just made it all the more magical.

Centerpieces, too, can be wineglass-based. Flowers, shells, glitter — I mean, only your imagination is the limit as to what can be created with a wineglass. I’ve also used them for place cards, painting with permanent glass paint the name of the guest on the glass (these are not the expensive glasses, you understand!) and then sending them home with folks as mementos-of-the-evening gifts.

The possibilities are endless. My mom used to serve liqueur parfaits out of flute champagne glasses. The intense green of the Crème de Menthe, for example, against the brilliant white of the ice cream all layered in her tall, sparkling, Pinwheel-pattern crystal glasses were a sight to behold. I haven’t made those for ages. I think I’m going to start again!

So again, while these vessels are perfect for their intended purpose, there’s also a world of possibilities for uses other than the original one. If you have any off-the-wall wineglass stories you’d care to share, I’d love to hear about them.

» Diane Nelson is a long-time journalist and former Sun staffer who really likes wine. A lot. Chat with her online at vinelines.ca or on twitter @vinelinesbdn