In this short article we will go over a few simple steps on How to Polish Wine Glasses to Remove Stains and Spots by following our simple two-step system. Let’s get started!
How to Polish Wine Glasses Using the Lifestyle Banquet® Two-Step System
A glassware polishing cloth is an essential component of your wine accessories kit. If you are new to wine tasting, or just enjoy sharing a glass or two with friends, a good polishing cloth will make all the difference to your drinking pleasure. Formerly this involved boiling water to steam the glasses in order to polish them but using our two-step system you will successfully polish all your glassware and accessories to a brilliant, streak free shine, effortlessly in minutes.
Items included our Set of Microfiber Polishing Cloths for Wine Glasses:
Utility Cloth – 12”X12” medium pile microfiber
This is a simple microfiber cloth that is the perfect size and thickness to wash your wine glasses. It also makes a good wine towel for pouring or a general bar towel for wiping and cleanup. The real magic comes in the next two cloths.
Damping Cloth – 12”X12” extra fine suede microfiber (the one with the photo on it.)
Sommeliers recommend polishing by boiling water and pouring it into a bowl to steam the glasses to add a little moisture, which enables easy removal of water spots. If your glasses are too wet they may streak as the polishing cloth gets damp and if they are too dry it is difficult to remove the water spots, resulting in the need to steam them again.
Our damping cloth resolves these issues and removes the need for the steaming process by adding just the right amount of moisture to enable you to polish easily.
Polishing Cloth – 20”X24”
large ultra fine lint free polishing cloth that is used to polish slightly damp glasses. The large size makes it versatile enough for all styles of glassware and stemware.
Care instructions:
- All are machine washable and can be tumble dried on low heat but ensure that you don’t launder them with high pile items such as towels to avoid contaminating the lint free properties. Also do not use fabric softener. A small wash bag is a good option to protect them while washing.
- Never wring your cloths as it may damage the fine fibers, just squeeze firmly.
How to Polish Your Glassware and Stemware
Start with clean glasses, this is important! Many people recommend washing glassware by hand at all times and others, like us, use the dishwasher even for our best glasses. It is your choice. If you choose the dishwasher, make sure that you use the glass rack on the top shelf and make sure they are not touching anything else to prevent scratching. Also, use air dry as the intense drying heat can change the color of the glass over time and that is irreversible.
If you wash by hand use the utility cloth, hot water, and a very small amount of unscented dishwashing soap. Check for red wine stains in the bottom of the bowl and for any lipstick or other residue on the rim. Then rinse thoroughly in hot water and semi dry your glasses using the damping cloth or, drip dry them.
Step One – Damping
This step is only needed if your glasses are already dry. If you have just washed and semi dried them with the damping cloth, as mentioned above, you can go straight to polishing. Otherwise, wet the damping cloth with warm water and squeeze firmly to remove as much water as possible (remember, do not wring.) Gently wipe the interior and exterior with the damping cloth then immediately move on to the next step, polishing.
Step Two – Polishing
While still damp, polish the glass inside and out with the ultra fine polishing cloth. To do this pick up your glass with one hand, holding it just under the bowl with either the damping cloth or utility cloth.
With your other hand carefully insert a portion of the polishing cloth into the bowl (depending on the glass size) and polish gently. If you have trouble reaching the bottom you can wrap the towel around the handle of a wooden or plastic kitchen spoon or utensil. Remember to be very careful, as good quality glasses are fragile.
Once the inside is polished continue with the outside of the bowl, then finally the stem. Resist the temptation of holding the glass at the base of the stem and spinning it, as fine glassware can snap easily.
Troubleshooting
- If you find that your glassware streaks, it is usually because the glass was too wet before polishing.
- If you find water spots difficult to remove, the glass is not damp enough
Other than that, all you need are some lovely wines to savor and good friends to share with.
Quick Tip:
Occasionally, you’ll be in a situation when you only have to remove 1 or 2 small spots. There is no need to use your whole set of cloths, just wet one corner of the damping cloth and you can use it both for damping and polishing to save time.
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