The Ultimate Guide to Wine Glasses

First things first, let it be known: Drinking from ill-suited glassware is not a sin. Should you find yourself at a table, surrounded by people you actually like, drinking good—or even totally middling—wine, the sanctity of your experience will not be ruptured by the selection of a Bordeaux glass over a Burgundy model. In fact, great wine, enjoyed from a ceramic teacup, is still great wine. 

Nonetheless, there’s some value to understanding the schools of thought behind varietal-specific glassware. Like with grammar, it’s helpful to know the rules in order to break them. And should a sommelier serve your Pinot Noir in a glass the size of a roomy fish bowl, even if you doth protest, it’s nice to know why. 

At a top level, here’s the breakdown: Red wine glasses (of which there are several types), have larger, more rounded bowls with broader openings to let more air interact with the wine, releasing some of its natural aromas, and highlighting the flavors therein. On the white wine end of things, you want a smaller bowl and a narrower opening to keep those aromas concentrated and the temperature consistent. And a universal glass—which is, well, universal—offers a bit of an in-between: a midsize bowl that’s wide enough to aerate a red, but still contained enough for whites and sparkling wines. Finally, if you’re wondering if you need a flute, you absolutely do not.

The world of wine glassware is rife with compelling options. Here’s what the sommeliers swear by.

Odds are, a stellar “universal glass” is really all you need. For the vast majority of drinkers, these are a) sleeker, and b) far less cumbersome to store than a bulbous red wine model. 

“At home and in professional tastings, I always use the same universal glass—a Sophienwald Essential stem. They’re handblown, ultra-light, and more durable than an equivalent glass from Zalto,” says Matt Stamp of Napa Valley’s Compline Restaurant (and its affiliated wine shop). “They feel great in the hand, they show off red, white and sparkling wines equally well, and if you have a bit of care and the right polishing technique, they don’t break.”

That said, the aforementioned Zalto, which is handblown in Austria, is, of course, a covet-worthy item. Trading for $78 a stem, they’re not cheap. But they are featherlight and impossibly elegant to hold (until they inevitably shatter). “My personal favorite is the Zalto Universal glass. It’s elegant, versatile, and complements most wines beautifully,” says Philip Dunn, Burgundy and Champagne buyer for Wally’s Wine & Spirits.

For the casual drinker, however, Riedel vends plenty of more approachable options—and we’re partial to these stems, each of which go for under $25. 

Designed with a globular bowl, the shape of this glassware allows some of a red wine’s deeper, denser aromatics to aerate and thus show up more prominently. 

Under the umbrella of “red” glassware, you’ll find a standard spherical model meant to celebrate any and all reds. There’s also the Burgundy Glass, with the most gargantuan of silhouettes, wider at the middle and narrower at the opening to trap the more delicate aromatics common to lighter Burgundy-style reds, and, lastly, the Bordeaux glass made for the knock-you-sideways Big Reds, with that same large bowl, and a wider, more open rim for better aeration. 

“I love having one wine glass for everything,” says Tyler Potts, beverage director at Saint Helena, California’s Under-Study. “That being said, I do think it’s a ton of fun to drink out of huge red wine glasses when dining. I’m not sure they make things more delicious than a great universal would, but dining out is supposed to be hedonistic. When you have a huge glass that can literally fit a whole bottle of wine in it, you’re definitely having a good time.”  

On the other hand, from a slightly more dogmatic standpoint, there are folks who harbor plenty of love for the specificity of their red glassware. “For the most part, dark, rich, oak-aged red wines perform best in a traditional red wine or Bordeaux glass,” says Dunn. “The larger bowl provides ample space for aromatic compounds: fruit, oak, and alcohol, to integrate harmoniously.”

Among the wine folks we polled, the standard Riedel red glass was the clear-cut favorite — though, of course, the Zalto Bordeaux glass was mentioned (at $80 a stem). And for a true budget option, at-home drinkers can turn to CB2’s chic, squared-off Muse red wine glasses at $40 for a set of 4. 

Defining the “tavern” or “bistrot” glass is watery territory — in part, because many were designed to hold water. That said, there is no formal definition here, but generally speaking, these glasses will have a bowl larger than the stem. They’re the runts of the glassware litter. “Because our bistrot glasses are smaller than your standard wine glass, our 5-ounce pours go nearly to the top, which is fun,” says Alex McCown, co-owner at Bed Stuy’s Frog Wine Bar, where guests are often packed into the backyard. These glasses are practical: “We really needed a sturdy option that would survive trips back and forth between the rocky yard and the dishwasher.”

Across the board, McCown’s take is a common one. Restaurants and bars deal with enough financial turmoil without considering breakage costs. “Our glassware needs to be well-suited to the practical demands of a New York restaurant,” says Piper Kristensen, beverage director at Fort Greene’s Place des Fêtes, who favors the Orcy glass. “It’s elegant without being performative. It doesn’t call attention to itself. It supports what’s in it. The proportions feel efficient and diplomatic. There are no exclusionary rituals or special handling instructions,” he says. “It’s serious, but it’s not precious.” 

As Kristensen puts it, these glasses resemble those at the wine fairs and tasting cellars where he and his team fell in love with many of the wines that grace the menu at Place des Fêtes. “Drinking from [bistrot glasses] connects directly to where we discovered certain wines and how we present them at the restaurant,” he says. 

In addition to the elegant Orcys or the more standard Webstaurant models on offer at Frog, there are plenty of ultra chic and, more importantly, ultra durable options out there—many available in sets of six for less than the price of a single Zalto stem. We’re fans of the trendy and tres affordable chunky Bormioli In-Alto glasses, as well as the squat Hay iteration.

For after-dinner drinks and fortified wines, there’s the digestif glass, which is shaped like a wine glass in miniature, but with a slightly wider bowl and a narrow rim (think: Honey I shrunk the Burgundy glass).  

“Digestifs and liqueurs are often very fragrant, so they benefit greatly from a glass that can concentrate scent and aroma,” says Patrick Miller, Faccia Brutto Spirits founder and distiller. He says the glass’s wide bottom increases the liquid’s surface area, allowing aromas to evaporate, while the narrow rim helps direct those smells to your nose. “The shape also manages alcohol vapors. Heavier ethanol fumes spread in the bowl, while lighter aromas rise, making the drink smoother when you sip,” he says. Lastly, the small opening and the wider bowl encourage you to take a beat. “Digestifs are meant to be slowly savored after a meal.” 

For Miller, the ideal option is the Ravenscroft Tasting Glass—Faccia Brutto even makes its own branded version. For a more design-forward, at-home option, he loves the footed, handblown Italian glasses from Il Buco Vita. “They feel great in your hand, don’t break easily, look super sophisticated, and are dishwasher safe. They’re perfect for transitioning from wine to amaro,” he says.

At times, the practice of decanting can feel a bit esoteric or excessive, but on the right occasion, it can really change the profile of a wine. For certain wines, aromatics can feel tight, closed off, or even “shy” when it first opened. “Letting a wine breathe” with a decanter helps release some of those aromatic compounds.

In the world of functional decanters, you’ll certainly see some overblown absurdities (like thousand-dollar works of modern art), but your more standard options have large circular bases, and narrow giraffe-like necks so the wine can pool out and oxygenate. Tom Zachariah, vice president of growth & partnerships at K&L Wine Merchants, is a fan of the traditional Spiegelau decanter, but he says decanting wine need not be a precious endeavor. “Honestly all you’re doing is aerating the wine, so technically, anything can be a decanter. I’ve used coffee pots, large glass measuring cups, blender bowls, whatever my Airbnb or hotel room has on hand,” he notes. “You definitely don’t need to invest in anything expensive. Just pick one that you vibe with.”

On the other hand, he’s also a big fan of the porrón — a Spanish take on the decanter designed for communal drinking whereby no one’s lips must touch the vessel. It’s shaped almost like a traditional watering can, with a long narrow spout that will shoot a stream of wine out when held at a certain angle, to be sipped from much like a water fountain. As a party trick, who doesn’t want their wine water-gunned directly into their throat? “I feel porróns could single-handedly save wine culture in this country,” says Zachariah.