How to Clean Cloudy Wine Glasses

There's nothing that detracts from the enjoyment of fine wine like drinking it from a cloudy wine glass. Wine glasses should always be sparkling clear, especially if you are serving wine to guests.

Unfortunately, it's easy for even the best crystal stemware to develop a foggy look that is hard to remove once it has "set." The best course is to keep this from happening in the first place. But if you already have foggy wine glasses, there are things you can do to clear them up.

It should go without saying that you must always wash good crystal, including wine glasses, by hand, never in the dishwasher. Dishwashers get very hot, which is not good for crystal--it can cause it to develop fine cracks. Also, dishwasher detergent can "rough up" glass surfaces. Both of these can lead to a cloudy look over time.

When hand washing your wine glasses, use warm--not hot--water and regular dish detergent. Adding a little vinegar to the water will help keep the glasses from fogging.

If you have taken good care of your wine glasses, including washing them as described above, and they have developed a cloudy appearance anyway, it could be due to the condition of your water supply. Hard water in particular is prone to imparting a foggy film to crystal.

To remove cloudiness from glassware, soak the pieces in straight white vinegar for an hour or two. Then, hand wash normally and dry using a lint-free cloth. You might have to repeat the process two or three times before you can get all of the filminess off, but you'll agree it's worth it when your wine glasses sparkle again.

Sarah Sandori is the food and entertaining columnist for the Solid Gold Info Writers Consortium. Have you ever wanted to be able to exactly duplicate a favorite dish from a favorite restaurant? Check out Sarah's article where she reveals her secret source for the most mouth-watering restaurant recipes in America: http://www.solid-gold.info/most-wanted-recipes.html