For those of you who follow us on social media, you will be aware Tom was given a small, silver cup for his birthday back in February. It is what is known as a Taste-vin, pronounced taht-vahn, otherwise known as a tasting cup.
These pretty little cups became very popular a couple of centuries ago, when it became fashionable to buy and sell wine in neighbouring communities and areas in France particularly Burgundy. Cellars were dark and dingy places, and it was difficult to see the colour of the wine and also pick out any problems within the liquid, with only candlelight for illumination.
The very first taste-vin was a Bordolese, and came from Burgundy, but gave way to the Borgognone with a diameter of about 8cm and depth of around 2cm. In the centre is a bubble which denotes the quantity of liquid allowed, and a series of 14 small bubbles are arranged in a crown to promote oxygenation and 8 concave pearls which are used to view red wine. Opposite are 17 ribs to highlight the nuances within white wine. Originally, they wouldn’t have had chains or handles. These were added later. Today, they have become popular and very collectable.
Having never heard of or seen them before Tom was a little confused to start with. However, after a brief google and a bit of research, we soon put it to the test. We of course had to try it out with a delicious bottle of English wine. Having experimented with the wine in a regular wine glass, compared to the taste-vin we could definitely tell a difference and it did in fact make the wine taste even nicer!
