Luigi Bormioli Incanto

Incanto is a compact series, and you see that in the sizes. The 27.5 cl wine glass is small by today's standards and suits white wine best, and a table where you top up regularly. If you want a bowl in which red wine really gets room, you are more likely to end up with the wider models among the white wine glasses or with a larger line. The 20 cl flute is narrow and tall. The 43.5 cl long drink glass has a straight wall in which ice stacks neatly; comparable shapes are among the long drink glasses.

Fill the flute to about 12 cl and pour in two goes, so the foam can settle in between. The long drink glass is the shape for a gin and tonic with plenty of ice: fill the glass right up with ice first and only then pour, so the drink chills faster and the ice actually melts a good deal more slowly. For a french 75 you use the flute instead, because lemon and gin stay together in it.

SON.hyx is heat-treated, which gives the rim and the stem more resistance to knocks than ordinary glass. The glasses are dishwasher resistant and keep their clarity: they do not turn milky white after dozens of wash cycles, which cheaper soda-lime glass does. Do not place the flutes against each other in the rack, because the narrow rim remains the weak point even in this material.

The brand's full range is at Luigi Bormioli. If the 27.5 cl wine glass is too small, you will find roomier bowls among the large wine glasses. If you are after a stemless glass for whisky or a cocktail on the rocks, the choice is wider among the tumbler glasses. And if you only want sparkling wine glasses, take a look at the champagne flute glasses.