NUDE Glass Vinifera

Choose the bowl for the wine, not for the occasion. The 45 cl is the all-rounder: roomy enough for red wine and small enough to keep white wine cool, simply because you pour less into it. At 79 cl you have a proper red wine bowl, meant for wines with firm tannins that need air; do not pour more than a third into it, or the size works against you. The little 8.8 cl glass is there for fortified wine and spirits after a meal, where the small size is exactly the point.

Fill a bowl to about the widest point and no higher, because the space above it is exactly where the aroma gathers. Swirl the glass on the table rather than in the air: it is calmer and nothing goes over the rim. Always hold the glass by the stem, otherwise your hand warms the wine. The 45 cl bowl is, incidentally, also the usual glass for an aperol spritz or a glass of sangria, which take ice and fruit without any trouble.

Lead-free crystal glass can go in the dishwasher, but the stems determine how long the glasses last. Place them apart and do not let them lean against cutlery or plates. Choose a glassware programme at a low temperature and let the glasses air upright afterwards. When drying, hold the foot and turn the cloth inside the bowl, never the other way round, because the twisting movement between bowl and foot is what breaks stems.

This maker's entire range is at NUDE Glass. To see bowls side by side, take a look at the wine glasses or, more specifically, the red wine glasses. For the small sizes after a meal there are the port glasses and the grappa glasses, and if you want to let a bottle breathe before it comes to the table, there is the carafes category.