RIEDEL Vinum

Start with the wine that is on the table most often. If you drink robust reds from Bordeaux or Napa, the 99.5 cl bowl is the logical first purchase: tall and rising almost straight, so firm tannins come across less sharply. For burgundy and pinot noir you take the rounded 72.5 cl, or the New World Pinot Noir of 80 cl in which the wine spreads out more widely. White starts at 35.6 cl for sauvignon blanc and runs up to 64 cl for oak-aged chardonnay. If you would rather have one size that works almost everywhere, the 65 cl comes closest. The full range by shape can be found under the red wine glasses.

Pour up to the widest point of the bowl and no higher; with the Bordeaux that is about a third of the glass. The space above it catches the aromas. Swirl with the foot on the table, which is steadier than swirling in the air. Vinum reaches beyond wine alone: there is an 18.9 cl whiskey glass, a 25 cl port glass and an 88.5 cl cognac glass. The champagne flute glasses of 16.2 to 44.5 cl are filled at an angle along the wall, so the foam does not rise all at once.

Vinum is machine-blown from lead-free crystal glass, thin-walled but sturdier than it looks. The glasses may go in the dishwasher as long as you place them clear of each other in the basket, so the bowls do not knock together during the cycle. The stem remains the vulnerable point: pick the glass up by the foot and never twist the bowl against the stem while drying. A narrow glass brush reaches into tall bowls where a cloth cannot.

Not quite what you were looking for? All the series from the brand can be found under RIEDEL, and the complete overview by shape under the wine glasses. If a young bottle needs air first, have a look at the decanters. And if the 15.5 cl martini glass caught your eye: how to make a dry martini and a French 75 is set out step by step.