Wine snobs love to obsess over glassware, a fussy and pretentious habit that has bred an industry of designer glasses intended to enhance the drinking of one grape varietal or another.
They’re probably right. And if you’re drinking $200 bottles and want to be persnickety about the inward or outward curve of your glass and what that does to the bouquet of your wine, have at it.
Since I gravitate more to $10 bottles, that seems like a lot of wasted worry. A decent daily drinking wine can be sloshed into and sipped out of just about any glass container, so why not have some fun and save some cash when stocking up on glassware?
The best way to do this is to check your pantry, which often is jammed with glassware-in-waiting that otherwise will be tossed out or recycled. I’m talking mustard, pickle, jam and other food jars.
Pull off the labels, give them a good washing and you’ve got chic stemless wine glasses. Free.
This doesn’t break a whole lot of new ground. Folks have been serving up all manner of drinks — sometimes with a splash of irony — in canning jars for ages.
Throughout Europe, the basic tumbler is the de facto wine glass of many homes and restaurants.
But in this tough economy, it’s worth looking at ways to get more out of the things we already buy. So I recently trolled the supermarket and searched for jarred food that could have a second life as wine and cocktail glasses.
Three tips for making this work for you:
Pick a jar and stick with it: Serving wine in a dozen identical repurposed jam jars looks funky, hip and slightly ironic. Serving it in a mismatched hodgepodge of jars just looks cheap and slightly frat house.
Buy some Goo Gone: Removing stubborn labels will be so much easier. Just be sure to wash the jars well afterward. Anything Goo Gone doesn’t get, Bar Keepers Friend, a powdered kitchen cleaner, will.
Become discerning: While smooth, round, wide-mouth jars are fine, there are plenty of interesting jars out there. Hunt for those with a unique shape, size or texture. The international, pickle and jam aisles are great places to start.
What to use
Still need inspiration for serving your beverages in shabby chic jars? Some suggestions:
Red wine: Fancy 13-ounce jam jars. Angular, wide-mouth jars are easy to hold and to drink from.
Iced tea, cocktails: Mezzetta Calamata Olives (9½-ounce jars). You also can enjoy the “Don’t Forgetta Mezzetta” slogan printed in raised letters in the glass.
Punch: Grey Poupon Dijon mustard (16-ounce jars). The apple-shaped jars beg for something bright and fruity.
Root beer float: Ortega Salsa (16-ounce jars). Salsa jars offer the wide mouth and hefty volume needed for floats.
Lemonade: 16-ounce pickle jars. Many brands offer barrel-shaped jars, which somehow just seem right for lemonade.
White wine: Patak’s Major Grey chutney (12-ounce jars). The size and heft make it ideal for white wine.
Tequila: 4-ounce baby food jars. Because anyone with a baby probably needs a shot, anyway.
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