5 Wine Glass Tricks You Have to Try!
The table is set. The snacks are prepped. And the wine glasses are fingerprint-free.
Not for long.
I’ve got five wine glass tricks for you to try that will put the fingerprints back where they belong – on your well-loved, oft-used wine glass. If you want to know how to host the best wine-tasting party with some light-hearted fun, this article is for you!
Plus, I’ve added a simple scientific explanation for each wine glass trick, so you can impress your guests in more ways than one.
Wine glass optical illusion
What you need:
- 3 wine glasses of different shapes and sizes
- A long piece of string
How to challenge your guests
- Line up your glasses and ask your guests: What do you think is the longest? The circumference of the wine glass? Or the height of the wine glass?
- One glass at a time, measure the circumference with your piece of string. Then compare it to the height of the glass. The results might surprise you!
How does it work?
The sophistication of wine glass design is important to your wine tasting experience. The shape of the wine glass enhances the aroma and helps maintain the wine’s temperature. The form also helps create a wine glass optical illusion that challenges your perception of the height and circumference of the wine glass.
Can you turn water into wine?
What you need:
- 2 x wine glasses of the same size
- Water
- Red wine (for visual impact)
- Piece of plastic film, e.g., cut from a takeaway container
How to turn water into wine in 7 steps
- Cut a piece of plastic from a takeaway container, making sure it is bigger than the diameter of the glass.
- Fill one glass with red wine to the brim.
- Fill the other glass with water, also to the brim.
- Place the plastic film on top of the water-filled glass.
- Carefully flip the water-filled glass and place it upside down on the wine-filled glass, with the plastic film in between.
- Hold the water glass and gently slide the plastic to create a small opening.
- Watch as your water turns to wine!
How does it work?
Liquids have different densities. Water is heavier than wine, so it sinks to the bottom glass while the wine rises to the top glass.
When your wine glass runneth over
What you need:
- Wine glass filled to the brim with non-sparkling wine
- Some coins (in Australia, use a 5c coin)
How to (not) spill the wine:
- Present a glass of non-sparkling wine to your guests.
- Ask them to estimate how many coins they think could fit in the glass before the wine runs over the edge.
- Carefully drop one coin at a time into the wine glass until it runneth over. You might be surprised at how many coins it takes to spill the wine!
How does it work?
Surface tension is the scientific term that describes the measure of elastic force on the surface of a liquid. The liquid molecules are more attracted to each other – cohesion – than the air above, so they stick together and create a strong liquid surface.
Why use non-sparkling wine?
Because the bubbles in sparkling wine disrupt the cohesion between the hydrogen bonds of the water in the wine. The surface tension is not as strong, and it will spill quicker.
Make it interesting!
Give your guests a small number of mixed coins and see who can place the most money into their own glass before the surface tension breaks. Each person stops when their wine runs over. The person who gets the highest value of coins into their glass wins a bottle of wine.
Bonus activity!
This one can be done as a science experiment with the kids – minus the wine – using different liquids such as water, vegetable oil, milk, and soapy water.
Upside-down wine glass magic trick
What you need:
- A small dish or shallow bowl
- A tea light candle
- ¼ full glass of red wine (for visual impact)
Make wine appear in an upside-down wine glass in 3 steps!
- Light the tea light candle and spill a bit of wax onto the dish to secure the candle.
- Pour the ¼ cup of red wine into the dish.
- Place your wine glass over the tea light candle and watch as the wine is drawn into the upside-down glass!
Another way to do this wine glass trick is to use water or non-alcoholic wine and sip on a red while you watch! And if you’re a bit of a fancy pants, light the stem of a cherry instead of a tea-light candle, then follow all the steps above.
How does it work?
The candle burns the oxygen in the glass, creating a vacuum. If you’re able to share a more detailed explanation based on the complex chemical and physical reactions that take place in this wine glass trick, please comment below, and enlighten us all!
Wine glass marble graviton
What you need:
- A wine glass per guest
- A marble per guest
How to create a wine glass marble graviton competition with your guests
Level 1: You’re doing grape!
Drop the marble into the wine glass.
Spin the marble and turn the glass upside down.
Level 2: You’re wine in a million!
Start with the marble in your hand.
Spin the glass around the marble until it lifts into the glass.
Keep spinning as long as you can!
Level 3: Sip, sip, hooray!
Start with the marble on a flat surface like a table.
Spin the glass until the marble lifts.
Keep spinning … and transfer the marble into another glass or container!
How does it work?
This one is all about motion and centripetal force. Centripetal force is a force that keeps an object moving in a circular direction. Once you get the marble moving, it wants to keep moving. The curved nature of your wine glass helps the marble push against the glass and keep climbing. The marble graviton only works with a glass that is narrower at the top – making your wine glass the perfect accessory for this trick.
Surely, after all this science and entertainment, it’s time to sip back and enjoy a glass or two of wine with your friends? If you have a better wine glass trick to share, I’d love to hear from you.