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Proper glassware is more than just a flourish for your dining table. The right glass changes how you smell and taste wine, and it should inspire confidence as you swirl, sniff, and sip. With the help of experts, we’ve tasted wine out of nearly 100 brand-concealed wine glasses since 2014 and we think the best everyday choice is the Libbey Signature Kentfield Estate All-Purpose Wine Glass. It’s inexpensive yet elegant, and in our testing it enhanced the aromas of both red and white wines better than most of the competition. 8mm Designer Acid Etching Glass Manufacturer
This inexpensive tulip-shaped glass showcases both red and white wines well. It’s durable yet still thin and elegant enough for dinner parties.
Although it’s pricey, this glass proved its value across a range of wines and doesn’t feel too precious to use every day.
This is a stylish stemless glass that you can use for more than just wine.
This glass is made of high-quality, sparkling nonleaded crystal to showcase your favorite bubbly.
This inexpensive tulip-shaped glass showcases both red and white wines well. It’s durable yet still thin and elegant enough for dinner parties.
The Libbey Signature Kentfield Estate All-Purpose Wine Glass has all the features we look for in finer stemware at a bargain price, and it’s versatile enough to be the only wine glass you need. The shape is nicely balanced with a thin lip that makes it feel more sophisticated than other clunky, inexpensive glasses. It’s also dishwasher safe and durable enough to withstand the rigors of daily use. We particularly recommend this glass for people who tend to drink wine that costs $20 or less per bottle (this glass won’t necessarily highlight the nuanced aromas and flavors of pricier wines) or for those who regularly entertain.
Although it’s pricey, this glass proved its value across a range of wines and doesn’t feel too precious to use every day.
If you want something that looks and feels more special than the Libbey glass and showcases wines with more nuance (particularly wines in the over $20 per bottle category), we recommend the Gabriel-Glas StandArt. It’s versatile and performed as well in our taste tests as glasses costing twice as much. Nice glasses shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions, so we appreciate that the StandArt isn’t so expensive that you’ll be afraid to use it every day. The slightly angled bowl is an elegant touch that enhances swirling, and most testers also found the heavier weight and thicker stem of the StandArt more comfortable to use than the ultrathin Zalto Denk’Art Universal Glass, our previous upgrade pick.
This is a stylish stemless glass that you can use for more than just wine.
For casual drinking, we recommend the Rastal Harmony glass, which is sturdier and better looking than the other stemless options we tested. The angled sides give it a modern look and also make it hard to knock over, which is ideal for large parties. The Harmony was pleasant to drink out of and a comfortable size for most people to wrap their hand around. While it didn’t do much to enhance delicate wines, it handled young, fruity wines well. Our experts recommend the Harmony for enjoying inexpensive, refreshing wines, but you could also use it as a water or highball glass. Just know that all stemless glasses come with downsides: Because you have to hold them by the bowl, your hands will warm up the wine, while leaving unsightly fingerprints on the outside.
This glass is made of high-quality, sparkling nonleaded crystal to showcase your favorite bubbly.
The pros we spoke to agreed that the best thing to drink Champagne out of is a wine glass. But there’s a lot of fine print to that statement, and if you don’t typically spend $40 or more on a bottle of Champagne to drink at home, a flute will still do the job nicely. Plus, flutes offer an elegant look that differs from a wine glass, and are a must for any celebration. The most important consideration when choosing a Champagne flute is whether or not it makes you feel good when you hold it. Riedel’s Cuvee Prestige strikes an elegant profile while still being comfortable to drink from. The tulip shape also walks the line between that of a tall flute and the more useful (aromatically speaking) bowl of a traditional wine glass. Made from nonleaded crystal, the Cuvee Prestige also sparkles brilliantly under the light. A tiny, imperceptible etching at the bottom of the bowl keeps your wine carbonated for as long as possible.
Writer Tammie Teclemariam is a wine professional, and covers restaurants for New York Magazine. Michael Sullivan is a senior staff writer on Wirecutter’s kitchen team, and has covered all kinds of tableware, from drinking glasses to dinnerware.
In our research for this update, we consulted with wine experts across multiple fields, including wine importer Mary Taylor; Hannah Harris, a manager and sommelier at Pasquale Jones in New York City; Eric Asimov, wine critic for the New York Times; Scott Carney, master sommelier and dean of wine studies at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York; Michele Thomas, a sommelier and freelance wine and spirits writer; and Kristin Wastell, then the visitor center manager at the Ravenswood Winery Tasting Room in Sonoma, California. Over the years, some of these experts have also helped us conduct our taste tests for this guide.
We also spoke to chemosensory specialists, such as Steven D. Munger, PhD, director at the Center of Taste and Smell at the University of Florida, and Terry Acree, PhD, a professor in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. Additionally, we reached out to glass experts such as Jane Cook, PhD, then chief scientist at the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) in Corning, New York, and William C. LaCourse, PhD, a professor (now retired) in the Glass Engineering Department at Alfred University in Alfred, New York.
To find out what makes a great Champagne glass, we spoke to award-winning sommelier Belinda Chang, former Champagne educator for Moët Hennessy; David Speer, the founder of Ambonnay in Portland, Oregon; and Philippe Gouze, the director of operations at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the world-renowned farm-to-table restaurant outside New York City. Additionally, we interviewed Maximilian Riedel, CEO of Riedel, to learn more about the history, development, and production of Riedel stemware.
When deciding which wine glasses to test and which to recommend, we turned to our experts, who helped us determine what to look for in the ideal wine glass. Here are the features we looked for:
We primarily focused on stemmed wine glasses for this guide, because they offer a better drinking experience than stemless glasses. As New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov noted, “The benefit of the stem is mostly that you’re not affecting the temperature of the wine with the heat of your hands.” When you hold a stemless glass, you quickly warm the wine past the optimal drinking temperature. Furthermore, you leave unsightly fingerprints all over the bowl of the glass, especially after touching food. That said, most of our experts agree that a stemless choice is fine for casual drinking, and we recognize that it’s popular among many people, so we did include a stemless pick in this guide.
Based on our experts’ recommendations, we looked for clear, unadorned, and smooth wine glasses, which allow for a view of the liquid inside. We ruled out anything colored, decorative, and made of heavy crystal with patterned etchings. Additionally, we looked for glasses free of imperfections—bends, warps, bubbles, or egregious seams on the stem, which are signs of poor quality and can lead to breakage.
We also ruled out glasses with thick rims and clunky stems, because they feel (and usually are) cheap. After sorting through hundreds of glasses for this guide, it’s clear that the less expensive the glass, the thicker the bowl and the stem become. All of our experts were partial to glasses with a thin rim because it felt best against their lips—more elegant and less distracting. In general they preferred crystal, which tends to be thinner than soda-lime glass but also more expensive.
For the sake of including some less expensive options, we did test some wine glasses made from soda-lime glass in addition to ones made from non-leaded crystal. Ultimately, we found elegant, thin-enough glasses made from both materials. (You can read more about the differences between types of glass later in this guide.)
The size of the bowl (the part of the glass that holds the wine) affects how well you can swirl the wine and detect its aroma. Asimov told us: “You want a bowl that’s big enough to hold a healthy amount of wine while really being no more than a third full. That gives you plenty of room to swirl the wine without fearing you’re going to throw it across the room or onto your shirt.” We looked for all-purpose glasses from 14 to 19 fluid ounces, which we found big enough to expose red wine to enough oxygen to let aromas become detectable, and still small enough to preserve the subtle aromas of delicate whites.
We also narrowed our search to glasses with a slight tulip shape to the bowl, which showcases the aroma of wines best (see this CNN article on how the shape of a glass can affect the taste of wine). Asimov told us, “You want the diameter of the rim to be a little less wide than the widest part of the bowl. That helps to channel aromas upward and makes the aromas of the wine a little bit easier to detect.” We eliminated glasses that didn’t taper inward at the top.
Though we only looked at glasses with tapered bowls, the shape can vary dramatically depending on the maker. Most manufacturers sell many stemware lines, each varying in height, width, shape, and quality of glass. We looked at a range of glasses in many styles with both rounded bowls like our main pick, the Libbey Signature Kentfield Estate All-Purpose Wine Glass, and angled bowls, such as the Zalto Denk’Art Universal Glass. Ultimately, we found both rounded and angular glasses that we liked—and other than the size and shape of the bowl, choosing wine glasses is a matter of aesthetics and personal taste.
We avoided wine glasses that were too short and stubby, because they lack elegance and are unattractive in comparison to glasses with longer, more classic stems. The stem also needs to be long enough to comfortably hold the glass without your hand touching the bowl, which could warm the wine and leave smudges. But we still wanted the glasses to be short enough to easily fit in a cupboard or the top rack of a dishwasher. We found the ideal height of a wine glass is about 8 to 9 inches.
In our tests, the thinnest glasses generally did an excellent job highlighting the flavors and aromas of multiple wines, and most people found them handsome to look at. But in practice, many of our testers remarked that the thinnest stems were difficult to grip and felt poised to break during use. Even knowing that those thinner glasses are more durable than they appear (all remained intact in our drop tests), most people were nervous using them. Ultimately, the glasses we favored hit a nice middle ground: thin enough to feel elegant but thick enough to feel comfortable.
We looked for glasses that were well-balanced and didn’t feel wobbly when full of wine. The best had bases that were about the same circumference as the widest part of the bowl. Glasses with a small base are easier to knock over and, in some cases, can feel top-heavy when full. Bases that are too wide are sturdier, but some of our experts pointed out that they could catch on the edge of a plate, which is easy to do on a crowded table. A base that is too wide can also make the rest of the glass look off.
The overall weight is also important. A glass that feels almost weightless when empty can feel unbalanced when it is full of wine, while an excessively heavy glass is unpleasant to sip from and cumbersome to hold. We looked for options that struck a comfortable balance.
While most wine professionals agree that the wider shape of a wine glass lets the aromatics of a premium bottle of Champagne (think $40 and above) open and develop better than a Champagne flute does, there are situations (like a Champagne toast) that call for the celebratory stemware. The tall, narrow shape of a flute also helps keep your bubbly from going flat too quickly. So for our Champagne glass pick, we looked for shapes that preserved carbonation well, but didn’t close off the aromas of the sparkling wine too much.
For our most recent tests, we conducted a brand-concealed tasting with Mary Taylor, a wine importer and distributor who has previously worked as a sommelier. After we eliminated all varietal and red- or white-specific glasses from our testing, we looked for the most versatile all-purpose glasses by tasting six vastly different wines in every glass, including $15-to-$20 reds and whites, a $10 red, aged wine, and natural wine.
We also polled a dozen members of Wirecutter staff on how they drink at home and asked them to taste wine from the glasses they were most attracted to, then to score the experience. We noted not only how wine smelled and tasted in each glass, but also how each glass felt to hold, swirl, and drink from. Between each round of tests, we washed all of the glasses in the dishwasher and polished them by hand using a microfiber cloth.
To check for durability, we also performed drop tests with all of our finalists: We knocked them over 10 times onto a hardwood surface, both when the glass was empty and filled one-third full with water. We also hit the bowl of the glass against the edge of a granite counter to see how it would fare.
When choosing a celebratory Champagne flute, we wanted to know if there was one particular shape of glass that excelled at preserving carbonation better than another shape. To test this, we poured 2 ounces of bubbly into four differently shaped glasses and waited 15 minutes to let some of the carbonation escape. Then we added a Mentos to each glass to accelerate the nucleation process and release most of the carbonation that was left—whichever glass produced the most fizz had preserved carbonation the best. Tulip-shaped bowls were the big winner, in both practicality and bubble preservation.
This inexpensive tulip-shaped glass showcases both red and white wines well. It’s durable yet still thin and elegant enough for dinner parties.
The best wine glass for everyday use is the Libbey Signature Kentfield Estate All-Purpose Wine Glass. We particularly recommend this inexpensive, 16-ounce tulip-shaped glass if you mostly drink bottles of wine in the $20 or less range, enjoy entertaining, or simply want a set of stemware that doesn’t cost a fortune. The Libbey was a favorite of our experts and non-experts alike, showcased the aromas of both reds and whites well, and has a classic look that’s appropriate for daily use or formal occasions. It’s nicely balanced and durable, with a thin lip that doesn’t distract from enjoying the overall drinking experience. It’s also dishwasher safe.
Our experts were better able to detect the subtle aromas of both red and white wines in the tulip-shaped Libbey than in many of the other glasses we tested. In our blind tasting, wine importer Mary Taylor noted that “this shape holds the aromas in tighter,” which made it better for a lightly oaked white wine than the large and stately Korin Sena Bordeaux glass, another inexpensive glass in our lineup.
Our experts and other testers found all the components of the Libbey glass, including the size of the bowl, length of the stem, and diameter of the base to be well-balanced. Taylor said it felt elegant to hold, “but not scary like I'm going to break the glass if I sneeze.” Several of our Wirecutter staff testers said this glass was the one they were most likely to buy for their own use for its classic shape and balanced look. “It has the appropriate proportions and good weight,” said wine critic Eric Asimov. “It feels comfortable to hold.”
While the Libbey glass is slightly thicker than fine crystal stemware, it’s still thin and elegant enough for dinner parties, which is great, especially if you’re wary of giving an expensive glass to rowdy guests. Made from what Libbey calls its ClearFire formula for soda-lime glass, it does seem to sparkle more under the light than other soda-lime glass offerings in this price category.
Though Asimov noted the Libbey glass was “a little lippy on top” and thick compared with some of the other glasses we tested, it’s still remarkably thin for such an inexpensive glass. Typically, thinner rims and elongated stems are features we see in glasses costing nearly two or three times as much. Asimov also observed that the Libbey glass “doesn’t have that ridge on the stem,” whereas other inexpensive glasses, such as the Libbey Allure All-Purpose Wine Glass, commonly have an unattractive seam going up the length of the stem.
It was easy to load the Libbey into the dishwasher, and we were even able to fit it comfortably on the bottom rack, unlike more expensive glasses, which were too light to stay in place.
The Libbey glass comes with a 30-day warranty that covers glasses that arrive broken from shipping, but it isn’t covered for damage that occurs during normal use.
One Libbey Kentfield glass did break in our drop tests, while more expensive models remained intact. But since the Libbey glasses are so inexpensive, you won’t be heartbroken if one does break
The Kentfield performed best with the wines we tried in the $10 to $20 range, amplifying generous fruit flavors. Taylor noted that it hid flaws better than the less expensive Korin Bordeaux glass on the $10 red, but with the $25 pinot noir it “concentrates sulphur and sweetness” and is a “better glass for inexpensive wine.” If you regularly enjoy wines that cost more than $20, you may want to spring for the Gabriel-Glas StandArt, our upgrade pick, which performed beautifully with all the wines we tasted.
While the stem on the Libbey glass is long enough to hold comfortably without touching the bowl, it’s not quite as thin or elegant as more expensive glasses. The Libbey also weighs more than our other picks, at around 5.8 ounces, though our testers said they didn’t find it distracting. The stem has a slight bulge where it meets the bowl of the glass, but again, our testers didn’t comment on it. What the Libbey lacks in elegance, it makes up for in price.
Although it’s pricey, this glass proved its value across a range of wines and doesn’t feel too precious to use every day.
With its elegant shape and excellent performance, the Gabriel-Glas StandArt is a smart investment for people who regularly spend more than $20 on a bottle and are interested in appreciating the finer details of wine. It performed well with all the wines we tasted, including the aged red, which other glasses struggled with. It’s also a beautiful object with a unique silhouette that stands out without being ostentatious. It performed just as well as competitors twice the price and doesn’t feel so delicate that you’ll only opt to use it from time to time.
Mary Taylor, one of our experts, noted that among the glasses she tried, the StandArt “does the best job for the nose” and that “it shows fruit and hides flaws.” This glass performed well across all of the wine styles we tested, whereas the Libbey was not as universally flattering.
It’s sometimes advised that you should spend the same amount of money on a wine glass that you would for a typical bottle of wine.
This glass showed aromas as well as lighter, pricier glasses like the Zalto (which are technically more difficult to make and cost more as a result), but our testers preferred the extra heft of the StandArt in addition to the way it performed. That extra weight keeps the StandArt from feeling top-heavy when filled with a larger pour and gave our testers more confidence in the durability of the glass. Although the quality and craftsmanship of the Zalto are exceptional, it intimidated most of our testers in practice. Despite being assured of the Zalto’s surprising durability, people still had a hard time getting comfortable with the ultrathin glass. Even wine professionals who own Zaltos admit they reserve them for special occasions. But the StandArt, being heftier than the Zalto and half the price, is a glass you don’t have to feel nervous about using several times a week.
The StandArt passed our drop tests without a crack and is dishwasher safe. It’s made of molded rather than blown non-leaded crystal (though Gabriel-Glas also produces a mouth-blown Gold edition of the glass that we did not test), so it’s visibly thicker than a mouth-blown Zalto glass and about 1.5 times as heavy at around 5.3 ounces. But it’s a bit lighter than the Libbey Kentfield glass, and the rim feels thin and unobtrusive in your mouth. Many of our testers also loved the StandArt for its stylish shape, one that bridges the gap between modern angled sides and the more classic round bowl.
It’s sometimes advised that you should spend the same amount of money on a wine glass that you would for a typical bottle of wine. While $32 is not inexpensive for any single piece of tableware, in the spectrum of glasses, wine paraphernalia, and wine itself, the StandArt is relatively affordable for the experience it delivers.
This is a stylish stemless glass that you can use for more than just wine.
For stemless glassware, we recommend the Rastal Harmony, an inexpensive, durable glass with a modern look. Although it was the most compact of the stemless glasses we tested, the angled edges of the Harmony made it easy to swirl and aerate wine. This glass was also the most comfortable to handle among the stemless options we tested. While it’s not great at enhancing the flavor of more delicate wines, the Harmony is versatile enough to use for water and cocktails, so the set you acquire for casual wine drinking can pull double duty as a water glass during more formal moments.
We found the Harmony to be more attractive than the more traditionally shaped Ravenscroft glass, our previous pick for stemless glassware. The angled edges of the Harmony made for a sturdier glass that was almost impossible to knock over during our drop tests (it often popped back upright like a punching clown). If you choose stemless glasses for parties or large dinners, the Rastal Harmony takes up less space on a table and packs more easily into the dishwasher. Other glasses we tested felt more regal than befits a stemless glass and ended up feeling too clunky.
Aside from the inherent drawbacks of all stemless wine glasses—they show fingerprints, and your hand will warm the wine while drinking—the Rastal glass has a slight lip. However, since we recommend stemless glasses for casual use, we’re willing to forgive this minor issue. Although the rim is slightly thicker than the Ravenscroft’s, most testers found the inexpensive Harmony to be more fun to drink from.
This glass is made of high-quality, sparkling nonleaded crystal to showcase your favorite bubbly.
According to the experts we interviewed, you don’t really need a separate glass for Champagne. In fact, the wider, tulip shape of a wine glass does a much better job of enhancing the delicate aromas of pricier bubblies. That said, you may still want a Champagne flute for special celebrations where a toast is in order, or for cocktails like the French 75, that are traditionally served in a flute.
Aside from comfort and overall aesthetics, we were mainly looking for flutes that excelled at preserving carbonation. The clear winner from our tests was the Riedel Vinum Cuvee Prestige. Its tulip shape walks the line between that of a tall flute and the more useful (aromatically speaking) bowl of a traditional wine glass, and has ample capacity to hold a generous pour of bubbly without overflowing. It also has a tiny imperceptible etching at the bottom of the bowl that allows the gas to escape in a steady flow from a single targeted place, keeping the wine carbonated for as long as possible. Considering the quality craftsmanship and materials, this flute is a bargain at about $25 per glass. Made from non-leaded crystal, the Cuvee Prestige sparkles brilliantly under the light.
If you’re looking for elegant glasses that are still cheap enough to buy in bulk for parties, we also recommend the Crate and Barrel Viv. The Viv is made of regular soda-lime glass, not crystal, so it won’t shimmer under the light like the Cuvee Prestige. Its long classic-flute shape won’t do much for the aromatics of your wine, and its narrow opening might also hit your nose when you sip. However, it’s more refined and has a thinner lip than most of the restaurant-grade options that are typically available in this price range.
Traditionally, wine glasses have been sold on the premise that you need a smaller bowl for white wines and a larger one for reds. But our tests proved that a smaller glass doesn’t enhance white wines for most tasters. Similarly, the biggest reds could be as expressive in a medium-size universal glass as in an XL cabernet model. Plus, there are plenty of complex and aromatic white wines that benefit from intense swirling in a larger glass just as much as a chewy red can.
As far as glasses for red wine, it is also suggested that wine drinkers need a Bordeaux glass, the tall tulip shape that most glasses resemble, and a Burgundy glass, with a wider bowl intended for lower alcohol pinot noir. To decide if we would include Burgundy glasses in our picks, we tested two, the Korin Sena Burgundy and the Zalto Denk’Art Burgundy, with the others in our lineup. They both performed well with pinot noir, but we could imagine their bulbous shape taking up significantly more space in a cabinet or on a table than Bordeaux or universal glasses. Also, they were not as beneficial to other grapes. Meanwhile, our winning universal glasses performed almost as nicely at showcasing that same pinot noir.
Some glassware manufacturers, most notably Riedel, take the concept one step further and have glasses specially designed for many varietals such as chardonnay and riesling. If you have particular allegiance toward a certain grape variety and the cabinet space to store unitasking glassware, matching your wine to the perfect glass can be a fun and expensive hobby.
That said, even the wine professionals we spoke with don’t use varietal-specific glasses at home. New York Times wine critic, Eric Asimov told us, “I don’t really put stock in the notion that you need different glasses for different types of wine. I think that’s an affectation and promoted heavily by self-interested wine glass manufacturers. … But it’s also a psychological thing, and if you believe it, then it’s fine.” Unless you have the space or enjoy the look of formal place settings, having multiple glasses for every type of wine is impractical.
Light weight does not indicate a glass is more fragile. In our drop tests, the lightest glasses performed admirably, almost bouncing back after they fell, while the two that broke were some of the heaviest. At Pasquale Jones, a 55-seat restaurant in Manhattan, they exclusively use thin, lightweight Zalto universal glasses for all of their service. The 150 to 200 glasses in use on any given day are washed in a high-speed bar glass dishwasher with a rack modified to fit the fine stemware before being dried and checked for lint by their polisher. Hannah Harris, a manager and sommelier there, says they only break one or two glasses a night, a normal amount for any busy restaurant of that size.
Although it may seem counterintuitive with delicate stemware, we recommend cleaning wine glasses in the dishwasher. In fact, some high-end wine glasses specify not just that they are dishwasher safe, but that machine washing is preferred. This is because the biggest risk for breaking comes during handwashing, where a glass can slip and hit the sink or snap if you twist the bowl and stem in opposite directions. But if you must handwash glasses, we recommend cleaning delicate stemware with hot water, a bottle brush, and a little bit of dish soap.
There are a few guidelines to follow when washing your wine glasses in the dishwasher, which we’ve outlined in a separate piece on how to clean and polish stemware. Here are the basic takeaways: Make sure your glasses are secure, and won’t scrape against other dishes. Ideally wash them on the top rack (many dishwashers allow you to lower the rack if there’s not enough clearance). Use a rinse aid and be wary of using too much detergent. In the short term, too much detergent will leave a residue and in the long term it may etch your glassware. How much is too much depends on a few variables, which we outline in that piece, but a big thing to look for is if you can smell the detergent after the wash cycle–a bad sign.
To remove water spots and smudges, or to get your glassware really sparkly, we recommend hand polishing it using a microfiber polishing cloth. If there are hard-to-remove stains on the glass, try using a little white vinegar (just be sure to wash the glass after). Never polish your glass by holding the base in one hand and twisting the polishing cloth around the rim of the bowl at the top, which could torque and snap thinner stems. Instead, hold the glass by the bowl while polishing to avoid twisting it apart. Check out this Gabriel-Glas video for the proper polishing technique. Also, never use linen softener when cleaning your polishing cloth, as this could leave a greasy residue on the surface of your wine glasses.
When storing your glassware, it should be kept upright, not standing on its rim. If you don’t have enough space in your cabinets, consider installing a stemware rack to hang glasses underneath them. After testing some for our guide to small kitchen organization, we recommend the Winco GHC-10 Chrome Plated Wire Glass Hanger.
When purchasing wine glasses, it’s helpful to understand some basic terms—including crystal, non-leaded crystal, and soda-lime glass—to ensure you know what you’re buying.
Soda-lime glass is primarily made from about 60 to 75 percent silica (sand), 12 to 18 percent soda ash (sodium carbonate), and 5 to 12 percent lime (calcined limestone), according to the Corning Museum of Glass online dictionary. Since it’s so versatile and inexpensive to produce, this type of glass is commonly used for everything from drinking glasses to pickle jars.
Non-leaded (or lead-free) crystal, not to be confused with quartz crystal, is a type of lead-free glass that’s similar in appearance to leaded crystal. It’s more refractive—that is, super-sparkly––than soda-lime glass, and more expensive. Wine glass makers can also pull it thinner than soda-lime glass, which results in thin rims and flawless bowls and stems. While there are many formulas used to make non-leaded crystal, glass manufacturers commonly use additives such as barium. Jane Cook, chief scientist at CMOG, explains, “Barium crystal is far less toxic, but it’s also harder than leaded crystal. It’s not going to scratch as easily. It’s going to look a little bit different, and it’s not going to have the same color profile.” Keep in mind that non-leaded crystal can also be referred to as “crystal,” which is confusing, so we recommend contacting the manufacturer directly if you’re uncertain, or if it’s not clearly labeled on the box.
Leaded crystal, a type of colorless glass containing lead oxide, is no longer commonly used by glassware manufacturers since lead is a very toxic, highly regulated material. It’s highly refractive, and softer than soda-lime glass, which makes it easier to cut and polish. But it has largely been replaced by non-leaded crystal, which shares many of the same qualities. Regarding the toxicity of leaded glassware, articles in The New York Times and Wine Spectator indicate that leaded crystal is safe to drink from. Our science editor, Leigh Krietsch Boerner, PhD, confirmed the only potential danger with leaded crystal crops up if it's used to store booze. That gives the lead time to leach into the liquid, so avoid storing alcohol in leaded-crystal decanters.
“Machine blown” or “mouth blown” are terms often used by stemware manufacturers to indicate how a glass is formed. As you’d expect, mouth-blown glasses cost considerably more than most machine-blown glasses due to the labor and skill involved to produce it. Stemware can also be made by mold pressing, or mold blowing, or a glassware manufacturer might use a combination of blown and molded pieces to create stemware.
Zalto’s Denk’Art Universal glass was previously our upgrade pick and is widely considered the sine qua non of fine glassware among oenophiles and restaurant goers. Hand-blown in Austria, it’s an incredibly elegant glass that stands out from the rest with sharp angles and an exceptionally thin rim and stem. Our two main issues with the Zalto Universal are its price and its light weight, both of which deterred most people from wanting to use the glass in the first place. Even though it’s a great glass, the differences between tasting with a Zalto and with the Gabriel-Glas StandArt were not significant enough to recommend spending twice as much. Additionally, most testers find the stem too thin and the glass too top-heavy when full, causing more stress on the hand and making the glass a bad choice for anyone with grip issues. While the Zalto glass offers a rarified experience and look, we prefer using it in restaurants, where you aren’t responsible for washing and polishing afterward.
The Jancis Robinson x Richard Brendon glass is the result of a highly anticipated collaboration between an English design company and Jancis Robinson, an acclaimed wine critic. The lightweight, hand-blown glass is a competitor with Zalto and is similarly pricey at around $60 per glass plus shipping. The bowl is rounded rather than angled, which gives it a more classic look, but the thin profile tells you this is a modern glass. This glass performs extremely well, and wine importer Mary Taylor noticed it worked best with aged red wine. But our testers had the same discomfort gripping such a thin stem that they did using the Zalto.
We were impressed by the Bordeaux Sena glass from Japanese tableware store Korin. At $4 per glass, these were the least expensive glasses we tested and proved to be durable and well liked by our tasters and wine professionals. Although these were the biggest, heaviest glasses we tested, many people, including expert Mary Taylor, felt the most comfortable using the thicker glass and the large bowl did justice to most wines tested. If you can get to the company’s Manhattan store, the glasses are a deal, but with shipping factored in the price is almost equal to that of the widely available Libbey glasses.
It was hard for the Riedel Vinum Zinfandel/Riesling Grand Cru to stand out in our most recent tests even though it was previously recommended. The glass was slightly smaller than most of the others tested, and the majority of the people were not attracted to it right away. When we tried it with a simple red and white wine, it didn’t impress us enough to recommend it over universal glasses.
The Riedel Ouverture Magnum was a previous top pick. However, in a later round of testing, our experts found the stem on the Ouverture Magnum too short and unpleasant to hold. Though it did well in our taste tests, our experts felt that the Libbey all-purpose glass was an all-around better glass.
Additionally, after our brand-concealed taste testing, we were able to dismiss other wine glasses from Stölzle, Riedel, Nachtmann, Schott Zwiesel, Spiegelau, Luigi Bormioli, Bormioli Rocco, Snowe, Libbey, Mikasa, Luminarc, Ravenscroft, Rogaska, Rosenthal, Villeroy & Boch, Lenox, Waterford, Crate and Barrel, IKEA, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond. We were able to rule out wine glasses from these competitors based on the tasting results from our experts, or issues relating to limited availability and quality. Additionally, we looked at offerings from CB2, Fishs Eddy, Pottery Barn, Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma, World Market, and Macy’s, but ultimately we were able to dismiss them because they didn’t meet the criteria for this guide.
The Ravenscroft Crystal 18-ounce glass was a previous stemless pick and remains a nice option, but we favored the Rastal Harmony for its looks and durability.
We also tested the Bormioli Atelier stemless cabernet glass, which was so heavy it outweighed most of the stemware in our lineup. It’s also enormous and too wide for most people to grip or swirl with ease.
Our testers found the Riedel O Wine Tumbler too big for white wines and uncomfortable to hold. We wished this glass had a smaller bowl with a slightly narrower opening.
We no longer recommend varietal-specific glasses, but we have tested a number of them. Here’s what we thought:
The Riedel Vinum Zinfandel/Riesling glass is a previous pick that failed to stand out in recent testing. The shape was a little too simple, even compared with the Libbey, and the size of the bowl was a little too small for swirling. The construction is still nice, with a thin lip and medium weight.
The Zalto Denk’Art Burgundy glass stood out the most in our lineup, sharing the same impossibly thin stem as the Zalto Denk’Art Universal glass, with a massive Hershey’s Kiss–shaped bowl resting on top. This glass was hard to store and stressful to wash, and when pitted against a universal glass with a pinot noir there wasn’t much of a difference in performance, according to most of our non-professional tasters.
We were eager to test Korin’s Sena Burgundy glass based on its budget-friendly price. Our professional taster did not recommend it over a universal glass for most wines, but she noted it performed well with the rustic natural wine she tried in it.
Both the Bormioli Rocco Tre Sensi Large Wine Glass and the Tre Sensi Medium Wine Glass did well in our blind tasting. However, they have a slight lip around the rim of the glass, which our testers found more distracting than our main pick for varietal-specific glasses, the Riedel Veritas glasses.
According to our experts, the Riedel Vinum Bordeaux and the Riedel Vinum Viognier/Chardonnay glasses showcased wine aroma well. However, our testers felt that the red wine glass was slightly small for big, bold wines.
The Bormioli Rocco Spazio 17 oz. Wine Glass by Bormioli Rocco and Spazio 13.5 oz. Wine Glass by Bormioli Rocco were top-heavy and uncomfortable to hold, according to our testers. They also felt that the length of the red wine glass had a bowl that was too long, while the stem was too short.
While our testers liked the Schott Zwiesel Forte Stemware Collection Full Bodied White Wine Glass 17.3 oz. and felt it was an appropriate shape and size for most white wines, they found the Schott Zwiesel Forte Stemware Collection Burgundy Light Bodied White Wine Glass 13.6 oz. to be too deep to detect wine aroma.
We found the Viv 20 oz. Big Red Wine Glass and the Viv 13 oz. White Wine Glass we tested (which Crate and Barrel have since rebranded as “Aspen”) great budget varietal glasses. However, they have a slight lip and shorter stems, which makes them less comfortable to hold than the Riedel Veritas glasses.
We liked the Schott Zwiesel Enoteca 1872, but we cannot recommend it due to its increased cost and constant availability problems.
The Crate and Barrel Edge Champagne Glass is heavy and unbalanced. Also, it wasn’t able to preserve carbonation as well as our top picks.
Our testers felt that the Crate and Barrel Vineyard Champagne Glass was too wide for a flute glass.
Though the Riedel Ouverture Champagne Glass handled carbonation very well, our testers felt like they were drinking out of a miniature wine glass.
The Riedel Veritas Champagne Wine Glass is shaped like a regular wine glass and has no flute appeal.
The Riedel Vivant Champagne Flute series had small imperfections on the bottom of the bowls, so we dismissed them.
Like the Crate and Barrel Edge, the trumpet-shaped Bormioli Rocco Ypsilon Flute couldn’t preserve carbonation as well as the other flutes we tested.
Though we liked the look of the Macy’s The Cellar Champagne Flute, its tall, tapered shape gets in the way of your nose.
We ruled out a number of other champagne flutes for a variety of reasons, including weight, height, shape, fragility, high cost, and availability issues. We eliminated high-end, expensive, and decorative offerings from Baccarat, Lalique, Orrefors, Villeroy & Boch, , Reed & Barton, Noritake, Nambé, Ritzenhoff, Royal Doulton, and others. And we eliminated workhorse brands like Luminarc and IKEA that would not be able to compete against the thinner glassware up for consideration in this guide.
This article was edited by Marilyn Ong and Marguerite Preston.
C. Claiborne Ray, Q & A: Lead Crystal Risks, The New York Times, August 19, 2003
Ask Dr. Vinny: Is it safe to use a lead crystal decanter?, Wine Spectator, May 30, 2007
Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, How to Select a Good Wine Glass, The Wall Street Journal
James Laube, The Perfect Wineglass: One Size Fits All, Wine Spectator, July 10, 2009
Nancy Mitchell, Budget Basics: The Best Beautiful Wine Glasses Under $10, Apartment Therapy, October 5, 2015
What is the difference between glass and crystal?, Corning Museum of Glass, September 17, 2016
Dr. Robert Brill, Will the Lead in Glass Cups and Decanters Leach into Their Contents?, July 19, 2016
Glass Dictionary, Corning Museum of Glass
Mary Gorman-McAdams, A Guide to Wine Glass Brands: A Few Favorites, Both Classic and Fun!, The Kitchn, April 25, 2012
Gordon M. Shepherd, Neuroenology: How the Brain Creates the Taste of Wine, Columbia University Press, New York
Eve O'Neill is a former senior staff writer reporting on travel and outdoors at Wirecutter. She can remember the titles on her childhood bookshelf that set her in this direction: Into Thin Air, On The Road, The Call of the Wild. She has always been drawn to ideas about how to relate to, and play in, the wilderness.
Michael Sullivan has been a staff writer on the kitchen team at Wirecutter since 2016. Previously, he was an editor at the International Culinary Center in New York. He has worked in various facets of the food and restaurant industry for over a decade.
Tammie Teclemariam is a freelance food and drinks writer who contributes to Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Taste, and other publications. Before becoming a wine and spirits professional, she studied philosophy, apprenticed as a pastry chef in France, and interned at Ceremony Coffee Roasters. She lives in Brooklyn.
by Tammie Teclemariam and Marguerite Preston
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