Christina G., Rebecca P., Jennifer V., and Amanda H. preparing for the Libbey plant tour

Amanda H., Jennifer V., Christina G., and Rebecca P. lounging at Libbey headquarters

Libbey has been a valued vendor partner of Houston’s for several decades. Our two companies have grown with each other over the years, and formed a unique partnership that we look forward to continuing to build on for many years to come. Members of our management team made a trip to Toledo, Ohio in September to visit Libbey Headquarters and tour one of Libbey’s six manufacturing plants (one of only two located in the U.S.).

The plant tour was an incredibly educational experience during which our team saw the entire glass making process from beginning to end – from raw materials to packaged glass products ready for shipment. “The factory tour was impressive to say the least,” says Amanda Hackathorn, Purchasing Manager. “The plant was huge. but still ran smoothly and efficiently.”

Despite Libbey’s advancements in automation, there are still a few manual processes along the production line. While the stems of all one-and-two piece glasses are pulled via automated processes, Libbey’s signature “Z-stem” is carefully hand twisted using special tong while the glass is still hot malleable.

Image courtesy of Libbey

The raw materials are combined and melted together at 2800-degrees Fahrenheit. The glass is pushed though custom-manufactured machinery that portions the molten glass before it is blown in molds, and then slowly cooled in what looks like a large pizza oven for an extended period of time. This process is known as annealing and relieves any residual internal stresses in the glass that commonly occur during manufacturing. Relieving these stresses allows Libbey to better control how the glass breaks. Rather than shattering into lots of sharp, tiny pieces, annealed glass will break into larger pieces with fewer sharp edges. This is key in foodservice where glass commonly breaks and can potentially get into food.

The Toledo factory produces primarily clear and cobalt-colored glass products. While colored glass can be checked for quality assurance purposes via camera, clear glass products are hand-checked for quality because they cannot be “seen” by the camera. Both clear and cobalt items that do not meet Libbey’s strict quality standards are recycled back into future product runs. Small product runs are manually boxed and palletized while palletization for large runs is automated. As you walk through the plant, it’s not uncommon to have conveyor belts carrying product over your head.

While in Toledo, our team had the opportunity to meet with Libbey’s new executive and upper management team members to discuss business challenges, opportunities, and successes as well as strategies for the future that will allow our two companies to continue to grow and support each other. “The Libbey visit was a great opportunity to discuss ways to grow our business with one of our most established and valued vendor partners,” said Jennfer Vigil, President of Houston’s. “The hospitality [Libbey] extended and ability to view their company from both their corporate and manufacturing segments was truly appreciated.”

Libbey’s showroom

Libbey’s journey to becoming “america’s glassmaker” began in 1818 in East Cambridge, Massachusetts as New England Glass Company. When Edward Drummond Libbey took over in 1888, he moved the factory to Toledo, Ohio. In 1893, Libbey became a household name when it displayed its beautiful cut glass at the World’s Fair in Chicago. Together with Michael Owens (founder of Owens Corning), Libbey revolutionized the industry when they introduced automation to the glass-making process.

Today, Libbey sells over 1 billion pieces of glass around the world each year. Known for its value, craftsmanship, durability, and innovative designs Libbey is the top producer of casual glass drinkware in the western hemisphere.

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Whether red or white, sweet or dry, full-bodied or light, wine requires specific serving procedures in order to tap into the full potential that it has to offer. Understanding the different types of glassware and how they complement your wine will help amplify your overall wine drinking experience! Welcome to Wine Glasses 101.

Parts of a Wine Glass

The Foot: Allows the wine glass to stand upright

The Stem: Allows you to hold the glass without warming the wine up. If you were to hold the glass by the bowl, the wine would start warming up due to the body heat coming from your hands. While this may not be as big of a deal for red wines (as they are typically served at room temperature), it is probably not the best idea for a chilled white wine or champagne. Warming the glass could change the flavor of the wine

Image courtesy of Libbey®

The Bowl: Has numerous purposes; this is where you’ll find the most variation between glasses. The bowls of wine glasses are typically tapered upward with a slightly narrower opening at the top than at the bottom for proper swirling. The swirl is what releases the aroma compound of your wine. When you put the glass up to your nose after the swirl, you’ll notice a concentrated aroma coming directly from the glass. This allows for a better tasting wine and overall experience.

The bowls of wine glasses often differ in surface area depending on the type of wine you choose to drink. Red wines calls for a glass with a larger surface area to allow the wine to breathe, while white wine call for a glass with a smaller surface area. Champagne is served in a glass with a very small surface area, such as the flute, to allow the wine to retain its carbonation.

The Rim: The rim is where the flavor hits your palette first and serves a more important role than one would think. Mixologist Sandy Verma describes it best, “The rim is imperative to achieving the full experience from your wines. The thinner the rim, the less the glass distracts from the wine as you sip. A good wine glass will have a “cut” rim that is smooth to touch and does not inhibit the wine as it flows out of the glass. Less expensive glassware may have rims that are rolled or bumpy – while still functional, and very much practical for everyday use, these wine glasses may distract from the wine itself.”

Wine by the Glass

Red Wine

Red wines are best served in large wine glasses. The bowls of these glasses will be rounder and fuller with a larger opening than other wine glasses of similar capacities. This will allow you to dip your nose into the glass to detect the aroma through both taste and smell allowing for the best wine experience.

White Wine

A white wine glass will be slightly slimmer than that of a red wine glass; it will have more a U-shape to it. Less volume in the glass allows the wine to stay cooler longer while still letting the wine showcase its aroma. White wine glasses can have two types of openings – a slightly larger opening to direct the wine to the tip and sides of the tongue or a taller more narrow opening to direct the wine to the back of the tongue. The taller narrower opening is most applicable for more mature wines.

Sparkling Wine or Champagne

A sparkling wine glass will have the smallest volume of all the wine glass. This will allow the sparkling wine to retain its carbonation and temperature for a longer period of time helping the drinker capture the full flavor in the beverage.  When you think of sparkling wine, think of flute glasses or coupe glasses

Rose Wine

Rose wines most commonly offer a medium-sweet taste to them but can also be very dry. Stemmed glasses with a short bowl that either have a tapered or a flared rim best compliment this wine.  Tapered rims compliment a rose with a full-bodied flavor while flared rim enhances the sweetness of a lighter rose.

Pairings

Here are a few options for pairing wine with wine glasses from the Libbey® Masters Reserve® Collection, an American-made glassware collection presenting both elegance and style.

Prism 24 oz. Courtesy of Libbey®

Burgundy

Burgundy is a red wine which means it needs a larger bowl allowing for a nice swirl to release the aromas of the wine. This 24 oz. glass is ideal for a Burgundy wine. It also works well with a Pinot Noir or any other full-bodied wine.

Renaissance 24 oz. Courtesy of Libbey®

Cabernet Sauvignon

Jerry Moore, a Libbey® glassware product manager says that this 24 oz. Renaissance glass is “perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon.”  Stating, “It’s got a really wide bowl that helps with the evaporation and the aroma. This puts it more toward the back of the tongue.” Shiraz, Zinfandel, and Malbec are other red wines that also work well with this glass.

Renaissance 13 oz. Courtesy of Libbey®

Pinot Grigio

The 13 oz. Renaissance glass is best for a Pinot Grigio. It is wide enough to allow the wine to breathe while being small enough to keep the wine cool in temperature.

Courtesy of Libbey®

Chardonnay

A Chardonnay needs a slightly larger bowl than the Pinot to allow for more swirling to let the aroma to take precedence. However, the bowl should not be so big that the Chardonnay loses its cool temperature.

Prism 8 oz Flute. Courtesy of Libbey®

Champagne

This is where the flute glass comes to play. It has a long stem, narrow bowl, and tapered rim to allow the champagne to retain its carbonation and cool temperature for a longer period of time.

In the end, there is a whole science when it comes to wine and wine glasses. But the final result when the right glass is paired with the right wine is true perfection in a glass! Class dismissed.

Call Houston’s today and let us help you meet your wine glass needs!

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