Wine: Diminutive dessert wine glass

[Mike Buckley]

Unlike most of my photos of wine, I had no reason to make this one other than that I like the concept. The middle glass has dessert wine in it. Such a small glass is often used because dessert wine is so often enjoyed in relatively small portions.

Setup
The background is translucent vellum. A small continuous-light lamp behind the background is shining toward the subject and camera. That lighting displays the outline of the transparent glass and translucent wine in dark tones. The vignette is created solely by the lighting setup.

[Shadowman]

Nicely composed, the reds add a weight to the composition and make the dessert wine look so much sweeter.

[Manfred M]

The concept worked out quite nicely Mike. There is almost an inverted balance in play here with the heavy red colour along the top with the lighter white in the lower half of the frame. Of course from a drinking standpoint the balance is there as the reds are likely dry and the white desert wine is in fact a heavier (from a specific gravity viewpoint) drink.

Out of interest, what wines are in these glasses as we can see the "legs" from the pour on on the desert wine glass?

[Wavelength]

Very nice shot...may i know, what is meant by a dessert wine? sweetened one?

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

Nandakumar: A dessert wine is always a sweet wine but the better, more expensive dessert wines are not made sweet by adding sugar. (It might be accurate to say that only the inexpensive wines are made sweet by adding sugar, but I'm not positive about that.) Instead, they are naturally made sweet by other methods having to do with the climate the grapes are grown in such as colder climates, when the grapes are harvested such as later when the weather has turned colder and a particular fungus has naturally made the grapes sweeter, and how the grape juice is fermented. There are other methods as well. If you notice that I haven't gone into much detail, that's because I rarely drink dessert wine, so I have never taken the time to learn that much about it.

Manfred: I've never heard that there is or isn't a difference in weight between dry wine and sweet wine. Sweet wine has a higher amount of residual sugar, so that probably adds weight. However, water is denser than alcohol and sweet wine often has more alcohol and less water, so that would perhaps make dry wine heavier. Do you have definitive information about sweet wine weighing more than dry wine?

The two glasses of red wine are dry wine. The glass on the left has Shiraz. The glass on the right has a blend of Negroamaro, Primitivo (also called Zinfandel) and Cabernet Sauvignon. The dessert wine is a Sauternes and is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle.

You noticed the "legs" on the glass of sweet wine. I actually eliminated all sharpening in that area because the sharpening made that slightly syrupy look seem less syrupy and instead made the glass seem dirty. (For others who didn't notice what Manfred is referring to: click the image to display it in a larger size to more easily see the residue on the interior part of the glass above the wine.)

Both dry and sweet wines display "legs" on a wine glass. However, that residue looks different depending on whether the wine is dry or sweet. I think that's because of the higher amount of residual sugar in the sweet wine.

[Donald]

A wonderful concept.

I must admit I am very partial to a good 'sweetie' from time-to-time. When we went to the Southern Rhone in 2012, I spent an afternoon tasting in the tasting room in the Beaumes-de-Venise appellation, which stocks wine from all the local producers. I came back home with a mixed case of dessert wines.

On this image, I wondered why you hadn't gone for complete symmetry with the small glass exactly in the middle and the stems of the other two equidistant from the edge of the frame?

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Donald!

On this image, I wondered why you hadn't gone for complete symmetry with the small glass exactly in the middle and the stems of the other two equidistant from the edge of the frame?

Not to be glib, but I didn't go for complete symmetry because I instead went for complete asymmetry. That made for a more dynamic (less static) composition, which in this case is more interesting to my eye.

To help make that happen, I used red wine glasses that are not the same shape or height. Their stems have a slightly different shape and the way they join the bowl is different. The different shapes of the large bowls also makes for a different amount of translucence and, thus, different color of the translucent red wine at the bottom of the bowls. I also placed the lamp off-center relative to the entire scene so it would be centered on the small wine glass. Even that glass is not centered in any way between the two large wine glasses. Indeed, the only characteristic that is symmetrical is that the two large wine glasses are equally out of focus (though by design they are out of focus only by a tad).

[Donald]

Not to be glib, but I didn't go for complete symmetry because I instead went for complete asymmetry.

Thanks for that response, Mike. I think it's useful for all of us, but particularly perhaps less inexperienced members, to see and understand that a composition like this is not an accident, but is a conscious and deliberate thing.

[bnnrcn]

I liked the asymmetry at first sight, very nice image Mike

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Binnur!

[LePetomane]

Very tempting. Nicely done.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, Paul!

[Rainforest]

I keep coming back to look at this and figure out why I like what I see - this time I will just go with I like what I see. !

[Mike Buckley]

this time I will just go with I like what I see. !

That works for me on several levels, Susan. I especially admire and appreciate that you looked at my image several times before coming upon your decision. Thanks for all of that!

[mugge]

Mike, I am glad you opted to go for asymmetry. It jolts the senses whereas symmetry soothes the senses. I like to be surprised by something new and you have done it in this case.
Cheers Ole

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Ole!

I've never thought about asymmetry jolting the senses and symmetry soothing them. For me, anything that moves me soothes me. So, use of either concept has the potential to soothe me, depending on the situation and my personal response to it.

[Dave A]

Very nice Mike. Beautifully composed.

Dave

[mugge]

Thanks, Ole!

I've never thought about asymmetry jolting the senses and symmetry soothing them. For me, anything that moves me soothes me. So, use of either concept has the potential to soothe me, depending on the situation and my personal response to it.

Mike, Picasso used asymmetry precisely to elicit a response. Had the picture of The Weeping Woman been symmetrical the viewer might have gone to sleep viewing it. The use of asymmetry is widely used in art to force the viewer to look more closely.
I think you are (instinctively) aware of that. The use of asymmetry does not soothe anyone, it wakes people up to look.

[Mike Buckley]

I understand that asymmetry is used to elicit a response. Indeed, all art is used to elicit a response whether it is symmetrical or asymmetrical. You're wrong that asymmetry does not soothe anyone, as I already explained that it soothes me. I have a very difficult time believing that I'm alone in that regard. On the other hand, if I am that's fine with me.

[mugge]

I understand that asymmetry is used to elicit a response. Indeed, all art is used to elicit a response whether it is symmetrical or asymmetrical. You're wrong that asymmetry does not soothe anyone, as I already explained that it soothes me. I have a very difficult time believing that I'm alone in that regard. On the other hand, if I am that's fine with me.

From the brain's standpoint symmetry is boring. Asymmetry has novelty and thus triggers dopamine and norepinephrine which exites us.

What we find pleasing in a great painting are elements of symmetry and asymmetry at play. We may not be aware but it is asymmetry which is the catalyst that is, we take notice.