Poll: What level do you fill your first glass of wine to?

Feel free to play along and cast your vote.

I specified first glass of wine because I would assume the likliehood of most anyone saying they fill the glass completely full on a 2nd or 3rd "re-fill" probably isnt high at all (it may not even be likely for the first glass, that's why I thought I'd ask...). The poll also presumes that by "first glass of wine" you are intentionally opening a wine for true drinking/meal/enjoyment purposes and not pouring the "first glass" for mere tasting group or "sampling" purposes.

I'm guessing, as general practice advises, that most leave some space when they pour a glass for swirling and breathing but you never know. It's also possible that some just "drink" wines casually or at meals only and may simply fill the glass full (more or less) without regards to much swirling or aromatic concerns so I thought I'd provide all options. Hopefully I did. If not, just click other and feel free to add your own option/preference.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure why I even thought to start such a poll since I don't really have a constant preference myself! I'd say most the time I probably do a half glass on the initial pour (for any wine), which is the option I went with. Sometimes closer to 3/4 a glass. I rarely ever do a FULL glass (for any purpose/ocassion) and rarely ever do a 1/4 glass either. The glassware exception (which I added as an option) that immediately came to mind would be the champagne flute (if one uses them often), which seems to dictate that a first pour is always pretty generous, rarely below half full. Still, you never know? Other than that, I don't know if people's own levels/habits vary based on different glassware or even different wines. Maybe you "guzzle" (blindly fill up a glass) when having an ocassional glass of mellow chardonnay but you never pour more than half a glass if having a special bordeaux/burgundy? If you do more than one option, just pick the one that best applies, or most frequently applies. Enjoy!

Take Care,

Jeff

For many styles of glass I find filling to about the widest part of the glass is about right - it allows comfortable swilling without fear of accidents. I don't usually think in terms of proportion of the whole glass, but I'd guess it is a 1/4 or 1/3. Certainly less than a half. If anything I fill the first glass less than subsequent ones as I want to pay more attention to it and I am more likely to want to get some air into it or let it warm quickly.

If anything I fill the first glass less than subsequent ones as I want to pay more attention to it and I am more likely to want to get some air into it or let it warm quickly.

That's a good point. I didn't even think about it in that way. My initial guess was most people would have their most "generous" pour off the bat and, if for no other reason than pulling back on the alcohol consumption, would likely have smaller pours on any following glasses. I didn't stop to think that some might actually prefer more generous pours on later glasses if they are, in a sense, just using the first glass to get acquainted with the wine.

Jeff

Depends on the glass, but in general I fill it up to the wide bit, under half way up, so there is a generous amount of air in the glass to capture the aromas.

I voted "it depends on the glass." But in general at home we use a variety of stemware (mostly Schott Zweisel) and I fill to (at most) widest part, which would be considerably less than half full.

Voted it depends on the glass.

Flutes will generally be 2/3 or so, but everything else is probably 1/4-1/3.

I don't know what a 'full glass' is. I have certainly never filled any of my glasses anywhere near the top.

I tend towards small pours (2-3 sips) to evaluate the wine and let it slowly develop over hours in the bottle.

I had the misfortune of being stuck on an extended business trip with a guy that would order the restaurant waiter to “fill it up” every time the waiter would only fill his wine glass half full. We were ordering by the glass and not by the bottle and he thought he was getting cheated by not being served a full glass. One of the restaurants we went to served their wine in Riedel Cab glasses. I'm surprised the bowl did not break off the stem when the waiter filled it to capacity for this guy.

Generally, drinking at home with a meal, 1/4 to 1/3 full, although quite often just a tasting sized pour.

I tend to drink too fast, so I pour very small tasting pours to better pace things.

I voted for the 3/4s of a glass, which is where we normally fill to. That gives the glass a chance to sit for a while, and let the wine develop to a reasonable starting point. Then as we are getting ready to eat, I sip some, and then swirl it, and sniff and taste again. If it passes muster, I pour True Love a glass, and after grace dinner begins.

Not more than would allow for easy and rapid swirling so that I can enjoy the aromas/bouquet of the wine before sipping. And of course, depends on the size of the glass. One rule though - never more than 1/3 full.

Best
Rogov

[Jenise]

Voted it depends on the glass.

Flutes will generally be 2/3 or so, but everything else is probably 1/4-1/3.

Ditto.

[Jenise]

I'm surprised the bowl did not break off the stem

LOL! Some people just shouldn't be allowed to leave home.

I open the bottle and pour a taste - about an ounce. When I pour the first glass to drink, I usually fill to about the widest part of the glass. I mostly don't use REALLY BIG glasses for day to day drinking, they're about 14 oz. When I use my snazzy Riedel glasses, I try to aim for about a 3 - 4 oz pour, planning to spread the wine out amongst more people and maybe a second glass.

John

I have some rather large glasses for reds (some hold more than 400-600 mls) so for me its almost always much less than half.

Tom T.

[David M. Bueker]

I tend to drink too fast, so I pour very small tasting pours to better pace things.

I use relatively small glasses to achieve the same result. My Riesling glasses only hold 6 or 7 ounces at the very most, so a 1/2 fill or less is a small portion.

I also do not use "real" Cabernet glasses all that often. The only big bowled glasses I use are for Pinot based wines (ok - Nebbiolo too), so I tend ot drink Pinot a little more rapidly.

I was at home for a second and did test pours in the two glasses I use the most.
In a "Chardonnay" glass (I use for most whites, most light to midweight reds such as Beaujolais, Chianti, etc) that's about 12-14 oz, my normal pour ( to widest point) is about 3 oz.
In a Bordeaux glass (about 25 oz) my pour is only slightly larger, still under 4 oz.

I'm with Brian - I tend to pour myself no more than a couple of ounces at a time. I find I drink more wine more quickly if I put more than that in the glass. The exception is when I'm sitting at the table with food in front of me. Then I'll pour 4 or 5 ounces. But that's almost never the first glass.

I try to aim for about a 3 - 4 oz pour, planning to spread the wine out amongst more people and maybe a second glass.

John

That's also a good point I didn't consider. It makes sense that small pours on a first glass would be the biggest choice if, in fact, the bottle is almost always being shared by more than 2 people.

Jeff

The *only* time I ever poured less than a third of a glass was when there was a bottle of retsina sitting in front of me in a Greek restaurant.

Being an aroma junkie, I love to swirl and smell my wine a lot. Therefore, I never fill my glass more than 1/4-1/3 the way. I also do not allow restaurant servers to exceed that amount at my table.

-- Clark

"One of the restaurants we went to served their wine in Riedel Cab glasses. I'm surprised the bowl did not break off the stem when the waiter filled it to capacity for this guy."

Wow, Dave R, the guy you describe must have a grip of iron. Was he a golfer? I’m an amateur pianist and rock climber and have fairly strong flexors, but I’d probably spill some wine if I filled a Riedel Bourdeaux glass to the brim. This shape is really unbalanced when full—I’ve broken a couple while hand-rinsing them for this reason.

Wow. This guy is a serious drinker! The Riedel Cab glasses I use at home hold about 21oz, filled right to the rim, or in other words, almost a full bottle. Even in those glasses, I usually pour about 2 or 3oz at a time, so my vote would be about 1/8 full I guess.

I had the misfortune of being stuck on an extended business trip with a guy that would order the restaurant waiter to “fill it up” every time the waiter would only fill his wine glass half full. We were ordering by the glass and not by the bottle and he thought he was getting cheated by not being served a full glass. One of the restaurants we went to served their wine in Riedel Cab glasses. I'm surprised the bowl did not break off the stem when the waiter filled it to capacity for this guy.