The Best… and Safest… Way to Wash a Wine Glass

Whether you be drink your wine in expensive Riedel stemware or the smallish logo glasses you’ve picked up during visits to winery tasting rooms, there are two goals afterward: 1. you want to get the glasses clean, and 2. you don’t want to break them.

Cleaning glassware actually is quite easy because it’s more about process than cleaning products. A mild liquid detergent — one that rinses well — is all you really need.

Whatever you do, avoid using harsh soaps and scouring pads. Wash each glass by hand with the aforementioned mild liquid detergent and lukewarm water.

Once the glass is clean, adjust the water temperature to warm, and simply rinse out the remaining detergent.

Some people like to let their glasses air dry, but that’s not a good idea because it requires placing the glass upside down, and the rim is the most fragile part of the glass — easily chipped, even when the stem is handled with care.

It’s better to dry the glass immediately, while it’s still warm, using a linen towel or another type of lint-free towel. Use one hand to “cup” the bowl of the glass — with the glass sitting on the towel — and use your other hand to dry the inside of the glass.

Stemware made with thinner glass requires a gentle touch; you don’t want the glass to break with your hand inside it.

Follow these simple steps, and you’ll have crystal clear glassware — with winery logos or otherwise — for that next special occasion.

Even if that occasion is tonight’s dinner.