Dave and I enjoy a glass of wine in the evenings. And recently, when I broke one of the glasses we’d been using, I dug out a couple of other ones that I’d been given a while back. They were taller and hence a little tippier, but other than that I figured no big deal.
Then I noticed that a box of wine didn’t last as long as it used to . . . and Dave noticed that he’d put on a few pounds.
And it hit me that with larger glasses, we were drinking more. At first, we said we’d just pour less . . . and that lasted for about a week. That little bit of wine in the bottom of the glass just looked so lonesome. Chintzy even. And soon we were back to filling the glasses fuller and drinking more . . . almost double what we’d been drinking with the small glasses.
Now don’t get me wrong. Dave and I will never be confused with teetotalers. But for health and weight reasons, we try not to overindulge. At least, not too often.
I finally realized that, for us, the secret to drinking less was to have smaller wine glasses. Looking online, I was shocked to see that many of the less expensive wine glasses held 17 or 18 ounces — sometimes even more. Stemless glasses were often in the 20-ounce range! I checked the old glass and discovered that it held just over 8 ounces — so a 4-ounce “serving” filled it half full.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any more 8-ounce wine glasses that were a fairly simple yet sturdy style at a price I was willing to pay unless I wanted to buy a case of 24. Not only do I like the smaller size of my old 8-ounce glasses, I also like the fact that they are shorter and the stems are heavier, making them less tippy and less likely to break.
Since I only needed 4, I ended up getting 10-ounce glasses. And without even thinking about it, we’re drinking less.
So if you’re like us and trying to rein in the wine consumption, you might look at the size of your glasses. And if you want a smaller glass, here’s what I finally went with:
- Libbey Catawba Wine Glasses, set of four on Amazon (NOTE: These glasses are out of stock on Amazon. I recently found Vikko glasses that are 8.5 ounces and quite similar.)
I like them as they are nice looking but the stems are sturdy enough that they are not easily broken. And while I generally am not a big fan of glass on boats, we had hated the Lexan glasses that a previous owner left on the boat. They scratched easily, turned cloudy and were top-heavy and tippy. We decided that we’d risk glass. And now, there’s the Yoebi wine glass holder so that you can put a footed wine glass into a drink holder.
Here’s your “Quick Start” to everything you need to know when living on a boat:
John Ahern on Facebook says
Strahl also makes a Bordeaux and chardonnay flat glass
John Ahern on Facebook says
https://www.strahlbeverageware.com/nz/product-range/wines
The Boat Galley on Facebook says
Curious what you mean by a “flat” glass???
Angelika Nyitray on Facebook says
I like the Champagne flute..
Jenn Cole on Facebook says
Heck, who needs a glass ??? hehehe!
Jan Alexander says
I don´t like fretting about stemware when boat wakes co,e along, so we have switched to small glasses, the kind ,many Americans would refer to as juice glasses. They hold maybe 4 oz if filled to the brim. So we don´t fill them right up, but are guilt free about having 2 or 3 glasses. I also practice portion control with the wine by chilling a limited amount for dinner each night. 🙂
Kim Barton says
Where do you purchase gear for the galley
Carolyn Shearlock says
Most of mine has come from Amazon, with some from WalMart and other local stores and a little bit from West Marine and other marine retailers. In my Outfitting articles, I give at least one source for every item.
Shari says
my small wine glasses come from wine tastings…when they sell you or give you a glass, it is typically on the small side. Next time you are in a wine region, go for the souvenir glass deal.
Karen says
Check out the wine glasses from “Marine Business” that we distribute in Canada. They have many different styles and sizes, and they are all unbreakable. They even have some beautiful ‘stem-less’ wine glasses that we had requested on behalf of our customers. You can find the product line listed on our website http://www.paynesmarine.com or you can download their catalog at http://www.marinebusiness.net. The product line also offers a ‘wine cup’ in most of their collections – which looks a lot like a scotch glass to me but could certainly be used for wine!
Cheers!
Allan says
I found these at a boat museum Govino Wine Glass Flexible Shatterproof
They are available on Amazon
http://amzn.to/1mo1d3e
Carolyn Shearlock says
Yep, the Govino glasses are pretty good. I’ve written about them here: https://theboatgalley.com/govino-unbreakable-wine-glasses/