How to Clean Wine Glassware?

You just got your spanking brand new wine glassware such as a gallon jug for fermentation, wine bottles for storage, and, of course, wine glasses from where to drink, stemmed or stemless, and you are just excited to start using them, but a burning question tends to be how to clean wine glassware?

You hear a knock at the door, or a ring of a bell, and a package awaits - it is your glassware. While they tend to come pre-cleaned, the act washing and/or sanitizing jugs, bottles, and glasses is never a bad idea, in fact, it is highly recommended to make sure everything is up to standard. That being said, it may not necessarily be a good idea to just wash and let dry.

For the most part, using warm water and soap will suffice in cleaning the glassware, but unless you are super thorough, it is recommended that mild and unscented soap be used to wash out any glassware.

Scented dishwashing soaps may leave behind residue that will alter or affect whatever liquids are poured into the glassware, wine in this case, and that is never a nice experience. The taste of soap, regardless of scent, is just disgusting. Long story short, traces of soap are not a desirable thing to have.

How to handwash wine glassware?

Beginning with the cleaning tool of choice, abrasive and/or hard ones are something that should be avoided entirely since, after all, things like scouring pads and scrubby sponges can leave unremovable scratch marks thereby ruining the visuals of a wine glass.

Next, you will want to start washing the glassware with warm water and mild unscented dishwashing soap. Be careful when handling it, especially the wine glasses, as you do not want to end up with broken glass in the sink, or cracks.

Do not be afraid to hand dry the glassware. Use a microfiber cloth or dish/tea towel to wipe the glasses dry. This goes double if you live in an area that has hard water as leaving it to air-dry can leave unsightly water spots, and, over time, mineral deposits.

Can wine glasses be cleaned in a dishwasher?

They absolutely can. Two of the important things to remember when using a dishwasher to wash wine glasses is the position of the glasses, and the settings of the dishwasher itself. To start, you will want to carefully place the glasses on the top-most rack at nd angle so that every drop of water runs off and without touching each other to prevent scratching.

Some dishwashers come with clips that can be used to secure the stems to the rack. Lastly, you will want to use the delicate setting on your dishwasher.

Which is better for wine glasses, handwashing or dishwasher?

A lot of factors involved here, but this will ultimately be based on preference.

What to use to sanitize wine glassware?

If the glassware absolutely needs sanitizing, potassium metabisulfite (or the cheaper sodium metabisulfite) can also be used for sanitizing. However, Star San is a great recommendation to absolutely sterilize one's glassware. Simply follow the instructions carefully, and you will end up with like-new glasses every time.