Why Do We Clink Wine Glasses?

Many of us have heard the story that clinking glasses was an attempt in olden days to make sure the drinks contained no poison and/or to scare away demons. Sadly, Snopes tells us these stories aren’t true, that wine toasting is a relatively recent invention. So why do we clink wine glasses? Let’s explore that big question here, looking at the many reasons we happily clink. Thank you to LISTVERSE, Farmers Almanac and Vintage Roots for their help with this article.

We Want to Involve All the Senses

We know that wine tasting is all about waking up your senses. How does the wine smell? How does it feel in your mouth? How does it taste? How does it look? But we’re missing one of the senses: hearing. Poor ears. We don’t want to leave you out. Clinking our glasses solves that problem!

Creating Community in Days of Old

LISTVERSE tells a lovely story from the olden days where “partygoers would pass around a single bowl of wine, and everyone shared from this single vessel. After the bowl worked its way around the circle, the host would eat a piece of cooked bread, a literal toast. Today, we’re a bit too worried about germs to try that, so instead of drinking after our neighbors, we tap our glasses. It’s a way of saying, ‘Hey, I’m part of the group and sharing in the good feeling.’”

Expressing Good Wishes

Touching your glass to another’s at the end of a toast is a great way to physically express your enthusiasm over the good wishes.

Creating Community in Modern Times

Bringing the wine glasses together symbolically represents the coming together of the people holding the wine glasses.

I hope, even in these virtual pandemic times, you have an occasion to do some clinking. Cheers!