How can I prevent cloudy wine glasses? – ask Decanter

Do you have problem with cloudy wine glasses and want to know how best to clean them? Then read on...

Digby Scott, Market Rasen, UK, asks in Decanter’s March 2018 issue: My wine glasses have a cloudiness staining the insides. Is there a way to get rid of this?

Ronan Sayburn MS replies: Cloudy wine glasses are due to a build up of hard-water minerals plus the extended time your stems spend in the dishwasher during the cycle – especially the high heat of drying.

Commercial glass-washing machines used in restaurants have mineral filters to avoid this, and the wash cycle only lasts a few minutes.

At home I always wash glasses by hand in hot water and very little if any detergent, then immediately polish with a dry cotton or microfibre cloth. Once on your glasses, this cloudiness is hard to remove.

You could try soaking the glasses in vinegar to dissolve the minerals, or rub the affected areas gently with bicarbonate of soda or nail polish remover, and then washing and drying by hand.

I’ve also heard effervescent denture cleaners can help!

If any of these methods work (and they might not if the minerals have permanently scratched your glasses), avoid using your dishwasher in the future or the problem will return. Otherwise you might have to put this down to experience and invest in some new stems.

Ronan Sayburn MS is head of wine for London members’ club 67 Pall Mall. This question is taken from Decanter magazine’s March 2018 issue.