Quality wine glasses are beautiful and impressive. They enhance our experience of enjoying delicious, award-winning Missouri wines but can be a bit of a bother to clean. Here are some tips for making your wine glasses sparkle, easily.

1. Ditch the dishwasher. When you wash wine glasses in the dishwasher you increase the risk of breaking them. The heat bakes the detergent into the glass or crystal, and you end up with spotty glassware. Hand-washing your wine glasses is ideal.
2. Does this wine smell like soap? It might be if you’re using a dish soap with fragrance. Opt for an odorless soap and use it sparingly, so you can get the most out of your wine’s aromas.
3. Hand wash with warm soapy water. Sometimes the old-school solutions are the best. With a soft, clean sponge, gently wash the glass paying particular attention to the rim (lipstick stains) and the base of the bowl (finger, hand prints). Rinse with warm water.
4. Sanitize for your soiree. If you entertain often, consider adding a sanitization step. Simply make a weak vinegar/water solution (1/2 cup vinegar to 8 cups of water) and rinse the glasses in the sanitizer in between the washing and rinsing steps.
5. Drying is really important. You can wash wine glasses correctly all day, but if you don’t dry them properly you’ll still end up with unsightly water spots.
6. Use a soft, lint-free towel to hand dry.  Microfiber towels work well, but you can also use a flour sack. They are inexpensive, large and usually come in packs so you can recruit a helper.
7. Avoid snapping the stem. It seems intuitive to hold a wine glass by the base and do a twisting method while you use the towel to dry the bowl. Fight this urge! The tension you create can easily snap a wine glass’s delicate stem. Use the towel to hold the glass by the bowl or carefully by the stem while drying the rest of the glass.
8. Water spots, now what?  If you still end up with water spots on your wine glasses, put a pot of water on the stove and get it simmering. Carefully (don’t burn yourself) place the bowl of the wine glass over the steam for a few moments until it has fogged up. Use a soft, lint-free towel to polish the water spots away. Easy as 1-2-3 (simmer, steam, polish).
9. Washing can wait if you rinse. You’re tired after cooking dinner or cleaning up after an event, and this hand-washing business sounds like a lot of work. The washing can absolutely wait until the morning on one condition… rinse the glasses immediately. If you rinse the glasses in warm water, your cleaning will go a lot smoother the next day.

Now that we’ve cleaned the glassware, it’s time to pop the cork, right? Cheers!