If you have never asked yourself these questions or you don't have a clear answer to our questions, read our article to clear up any doubts. We will explain how wine glasses should be stored and which way they should be stored and placed on the table.

How to store wine glasses: up or down?

Let's start with storage. Imagine you have used, then washed and cleaned the wine glasses. Now it's time to put them on the appropriate shelf. How should you store them? With the cup facing up or down?

First of all, we must specify that wine glasses should be reserved a specific space, shelf or cabinet, with a flat surface and preferably closed and protected, in order to avoid possible contamination by external agents and dust. Furthermore, wine glasses should be stored spaced apart, without coming into contact, to prevent damage.

Now let's move on to the key question of our article: should glasses be stored with the cup facing up or down? Which is the best solution?

Generally speaking, we can answer that:

wine glasses should be stored with the cup facing down, on a clean surface to avoid contamination.

Why facing down? To prevent dust from accumulating inside the cup. This is especially true when the shelves are open and easily "attacked" by external agents.

This is the ideal situation, closed shelf and glasses facing down, but there are other possible problems that complicate the matter and require alternative solutions. You should know that wine glasses, especially crystal ones, are quite fragile. Placing them facing down, in contact with the surface of the shelf where they are stored, there is the risk of ruining the rim of the cup and, in extreme situations, breaking them because the cup is not able to support the weight of the stem and the base. In these cases, there are two possible solutions:

● if the problem is that the edge of the cup can be damaged due to contact with the shelf surface, you can cover the surface with a clean, non-slip cloth to soften the contact area;

● if, on the other hand, the problem is that the cup cannot support the weight of the rest of the glass, you can use special supports that allow you to keep the glasses cup-side down, hanging from the base, suspended and not in contact with the shelf. This solution has a small defect: it leaves a small hole for dust to pass through ...

Now another tip for proper storage of wine glasses: make sure, before storing them cup-side down, that they are perfectly dried. Otherwise, there is a risk of humidity forming inside the glass, which then leads to the formation of mold and bacteria.

In addition, if wine glasses are stored on a shelf for a long time, even if stored properly, they should still be washed, cleaned and dried before use, precisely to avoid unpleasant inconveniences.

How to place wine glasses on the table: up or down?

Now let's move on to the moment of service. Take the glasses from your shelf to place them on the table. But how do you place them? Facing down or facing up?

According to the Etiquette of wine:

the glasses should be placed on the table, just before the guests arrive, strictly with the cup facing up.

If, however, the glasses, for various reasons, must be placed on the table much earlier, or again, if you are in an open place, for hygiene reasons and to avoid contamination by external agents, the Wine Etiquette suggests placing them upside down. It will be the person in charge of the service in a restaurant or the diner, in informal occasions, to place the glass facing up, just before pouring the wine.

With this short guide we hope to have clarified this aspect, often underestimated, on the conservation and service of wine glasses.