Drinking from plastic wine glasses: a note from the Good Doctor

You may not know it, but The Winehiker sometimes drinks his wine from plastic wine glasses. It’s not a preference for me, mind you, but occasions arise when plastic wine glasses, which are (mostly) unbreakable, are the only viable solution to one of Nature’s wine-drinking problems.

The reason why people choose to use plastic wine glasses, if they do at all, is so they can drink wine in a civilized manner while they’re out roughing it. That fine Riedel O glass you like to admire as you swirl and sip from it on your veranda upon a sultry and enchanting evening just doesn’t work in a backpack, especially when you’re bouncing up a trail with a comparatively heavy 750ml bottle of wine adjacent to it. The potential devastation of glass and occasion would be most annoying.

So how do you keep from breaking your good glassware and still maintain a civilized approach to modern wine-tasting in the wild?

Erstwhile award-winning wine blogger Tyler Colman, whom you may know as Dr. Vino, recently attended a lakeside party in which the wine was served, as he described, in “really thick plastic goblets”. Later, apparently annoyed by the low-brow presentation of wine in an otherwise high-brow occasion, the Good Doctor briefly inquired of The Winehiker, asking only:

Hey Russ, what is your preferred stemware for hikes?

Cheers,
Tyler

Being fully aware of Dr. Vino’s penchant for wit and humor - a big part of why we wine lovers read his blog - I replied:

Hey Tyler,

Would you believe me if I told you my preferred stemware for winehiking is high-impact acrylic, with removable stems? I think the brand is “Crudel”….*

Actually, though, I don’t condone drinking while on the hike, for safety reasons mostly. My groups typically end up at a winery, so I let those nice folks handle the stemware. Indeed, when they see us highly-cultured (and sometimes highly-sweaty) winehikers coming, they reach for their best Spiegelau.

But I’ve always known that hiking and food make for a great one-two combination, food and wine do too, and what the heck - why not all three? Kinda helps wash down that pesky trail dust!

I can see it now: your next sip n’ spit will feature stemware for the rugged yet civilized adventurist. Come to think of it, I should display an Amazon ad.

Nice of you to write, Tyler. Cheers back atcha!

*Um, not really! Hey, we’re winehikers - we just swig from the bottle.

Apparently I hadn’t fully assessed the entirety of the Good Doctor’s dilemma, nor his assessment of winehiking, as you might infer from his response:

What - no wine on the hikes?!? Isn’t that false advertising?

So no tips for something good, light and virtually unbreakable?

Sounds like the Good Doctor wishes to convert to Winehikerism! And who am I not to gently guide him along the winehiking path?

Tyler,

Oh, so you’re serious! Well, my goodness. Take a look at the following products on the REI website.* If you don’t have an REI in your neck ‘the woods, Tyler, I believe most sporting goods stores will carry the first item, of which I own a few. If they’re not knocked around too much - the weakest part about them being the male-threaded gazinta - they should last at least five years of moderate camping use. They won’t look particularly pretty then, being that they’re of a softer material and therefore wear and tear will scratch them up a bit more than if they were glass. They’ll still be quite functional, however, and you can stuff a few of them into most backpacks - leaving room for wine, of course (yes, occasionally I do bring wine on the trail, but please don’t mention that to the authorities).

And yet, if thrown with adamant aplomb into the campfire after a well-executed toast, Lexan stemware - as oxymoronic as that term suddenly seems to me - may crack and be rendered useless. (Sigh!) Alas, they just won’t have that satisfying shatter that real wine glasses have. (Sigh twice!)

But I seriously digress. Check ‘em out!

GSI Lexan Wine Glass, $5.95
http://www.rei.com/product/634314

GSI Small Lexan Wine Glass, $4.95
http://www.rei.com/product/736982

~Russ

*Yes, I’m an REI member. I’ve come to the conclusion that “REI” stands for Russ Equipment Incorporated.

To which Dr. Vino replied:

Thanks Russ! I wondered if there was something better. Indeed, this looks good. Now I just need to find an REI…

Happy trails! Cheers,
Tyler

If you’re ever caught in the act of passing time in an expansive oasis of scenic lakeside splendor and find that you’ve got a serious jones for the mannerly assimilation of oenologic libation, it’s nice to know that you had the foresight to pack along these plastic potationals.

~winehiker

The Winehiker also recommends other must-haves for civilized forays into the wild. Just check out the sidebar to your right (or search this page for “The Winehiker Recommends”) for such goodies as a Deluxe Picnic Backpack, a Wildflower Guide, and a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife with obligatory corkscrew. And yes, Lexan wine glasses for 20 cents cheaper than at REI. What’s more, if clicking through on any of these items results in a direct purchase, you’ll be well-equipped for winehiking, and The Winehiker will be most grateful.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 2:55 pm and is filed under grape squeezins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.