Wine glasses

Start with the shape, because it determines most of the experience. A round, wide bowl provides plenty of wine-to-air contact and directs the aromas upward: this is the Burgundy style, found among red wine glasses in sizes from 75 to 96 cl, intended for pinot noir and other grapes where aroma matters more than structure. A taller, straighter bowl directs the wine deeper into your mouth and tames firm tannins: the Bordeaux style, usually around 55 to 75 cl. For white wine, the opposite applies, and a slender 20 to 35 cl bowl keeps the wine cool and the fruit crisp, which is what you look for in white wine glasses .

Capacity confuses many people, because you never fill a 55 cl glass to the brim. The serving size is about one-fifth of the bowl, so a large bowl holds just as much wine as a small glass; the only difference is that the wine gets more air. If you want one set for everything, choose something between 43 and 55 cl. If you are specifically looking for the largest bowls, large wine glasses are listed separately. Finally, consider quantity: at home, two glasses per guest are sufficient; in the hospitality industry, allow for two to three times the number of place settings so that a clean set is always ready.

Pour up to the widest point of the bowl, and no higher. Above that point, the glass narrows, and you need that space to collect aromas and swirl without spilling. Room temperature is a misconception from an era of colder homes: red wine is best served between 16 and 18 degrees, white wine between 8 and 12. Always hold the glass by the stem or base, because wrapping your hand around the bowl noticeably raises the temperature within a few minutes.

Young, full-bodied red wine becomes softer once it gets some air. Half an hour in a decanter does more than an hour of waiting in the open bottle, simply because the wine's surface area in the decanter is many times larger. With old wine, you decant it precisely to leave the sediment behind. Wine does not always have to be served neat, by the way: a sangria calls for a large bowl with ice and fruit, with the bowl mainly serving as a vessel. If you serve several wines in succession, go from light to full-bodied and from dry to sweet, so each subsequent glass does not seem flat.

Lead-free crystal glass is thinner and clearer than tempered soda-lime glass, but that does not make it weaker: professional ranges are developed to survive years of daily dishwasher cycles. Damage almost always happens at two moments. The first is drying, when you hold the foot and turn the bowl. All the strain then lands on the join between bowl and stem, and that is exactly where it snaps. Hold the bowl and turn the cloth inside it.

The second moment is the dishwasher basket. Place glasses so that stems do not touch, choose a short programme at a moderate temperature and take them out as soon as it finishes, because leftover steam settles as limescale. That dull haze comes off with a dash of vinegar in the rinsing water and a lint-free cloth. Hand washing is fine too, but rinse thoroughly with hot water afterwards, because soap residue leaves a thin film that you will find back in the smell of the wine. Store glasses upright so the thin rim rests on nothing.

If you already know which wine will go in the glass, you can immediately click through to the corresponding model in the menu alongside. If it’s sparkling wine, a different bowl is called for, and you’ll find flutes, coupes, and tulip-shaped glasses for prosecco and cava under champagne glasses. If you’re looking for a brand rather than a shape, the major houses each have their own page. If there’s wine left in the bottle, wine stoppers keep an opened bottle tasting good for a few days. And if you want to use wine as the basis for an aperitif, a kir royal is the simplest recipe there is.