Caring for Your Glassware

Fine wine stemware certainly has come along in the past 20 years, graduating from thick-rimmed, trumpet-shaped goblets to crystal ware as thin as mica leaf and in every conceivable form—for every conceivable wine.

The care of such glassware has come along too, well beyond upending wine glasses in the top rack of the dishwasher.

While some folk nonetheless still wash fine stemware mechanically, it isn’t best to do so. Here’s why.

Fine crystal is more porous than silica-based glass and, as a consequence, absorbs odors and tastes from everything from the cardboard boxes that it’s shipped in to the detergents or rinse aids that it’s washed in.

A modern dishwasher’s drying cycle is also so hot that it can “bake in” some of these off odors. Also, in time, dishwashers simply will cloud fine crystal—the very opposite for which it was purchased.

• Wash fine crystal stemware by hand, in lukewarm water.

• Use a small amount of mild liquid detergent that rinses well, such as Ivory Liquid.

• With a delicate hand, wash rims and interiors with a soft cloth or brush (or, better, a “sponge-on-a-stick”).

• Rinse well under warm, running water.

• Dry while the glass is still warm, using lint-free towels (linen or linen-cotton blends are best) that have been laundered without fabric softener.

• Do not hold the stem in order to shake excess water from the glass. Quick snaps can easily break the bowl at the point where it meets the stem.

• Dry the interior while holding the towel in two places, one hand under the bowl, the other reaching into the glass.

• Do not dry the glass while holding the stem or “foot.” You easily can twist the stem from the bowl.

• It’s best not to place or store crystal glassware upside down on a hard surface because it is at the rims where glasses are most fragile.

• Some people rotate crystal in the cupboard where it is stored, placing newly cleaned glasses to the rear.

In time, crystal may stain. A mix of ice and kosher salt is an effective cleanser for decanters and carafes. Mixtures of either (a) vinegar and kosher salt or (b) warm water and baking soda work well for hollowware.

Some restaurants employ a nifty way to shine their crystal stemware before service. They hold the mouth of the glass over a gentle steam or boiling water, and then polish the glass with a lint-free cloth.

Some hosts “rinse” the interior of each glass with a small bit of the wine to be served in it, discard the rinse, and then pour a portion.

Some notes about lead in crystal
Crystal makers add 24%-32% lead to crystal as a means of softening it, in order to make it easier both to etch and polish. (Lead also strengthens crystal and makes it more brilliant or clear.)

Lead is toxic, however, especially to children and pregnant women. Because alcohol (and other liquids, particularly acidic ones) can leach lead from crystal, scientists and government agencies caution against serving wine from lead crystal stemware to either children or pregnant women.

Nonetheless, whether lead crystal poses a significant long-term risk to most adults is a matter of context. Lead is ubiquitous and, due primarily to soil contamination from automobile emissions, it is eradicable from the food chain.

In any case, in 1991 the International Crystal Federation (ICF), an umbrella organization of European and U.S. crystal manufacturers, adopted standards for lead migration in crystal hollowware that are well below those set by the World Health Organization and the International Organization for Standardization.

The ICF does cautions against serving alcoholic beverages that have been stored for longer than a few hours in lead-enhanced crystal containers (such as decanters or carafes). In addition, some scientists advise wine drinkers not to use leaded crystal daily, but merely from time to time.

As alternatives to lead, some crystal manufacturers have developed ways to incorporate other metallic elements—such as barium, bismuth or strontium—into their crystal stemware. (Like lead, any one of these added metals strengthens, clarifies and brightens crystal.)

Scientists have determined that glassware containing these metals is safe for wine consumption.