Paradox Cristalin

Start with the wine, not with the range. The Bordeaux bowls of 58 and 67 centilitres are tall and relatively narrow: that helps wines with firm tannins, because the alcohol gets room at the top and the fruit stays underneath. The 63 cl Burgundy is wide and rounded instead, meant for pinot noir and other aromatic grapes where the nose does the work. The 90 cl Magnum is the largest in the collection and is intended for special bottles shared in company: you never pour it beyond a quarter. The Tasting glasses of 45 and 47 centilitres are smaller and universal in shape, handy when you are tasting several wines side by side and would rather not reach for a different glass each time. For sparkling wine there is one model, a 30 cl champagne glass that is noticeably wider than a classic flute.

Never fill a large bowl up to its widest point. For the 90 cl Magnum a normal pour is about a quarter, for the Bordeaux glasses a third. Swirl briefly, smell, and let the wine stand for a minute before smelling again, because young wine changes in the glass. When tasting several bottles in a row, stay with the same Tasting glass and rinse in between with a splash of the next wine. Serve red wine at around sixteen degrees and white at around ten; in most homes room temperature has drifted well past what it once meant. The 30 cl champagne glass gives bubbles more room than a narrow flute, which benefits the aroma in a Champagne Cocktail or a French 75.

Crystalline glass contains no lead, but it does contain other oxides that make the glass clear and light. Handmade bowls therefore have a thin wall and an applied stem, and that is where breakage starts. Wash them by hand where possible in lukewarm water, holding the glass by the bowl rather than the stem: twisting by the stem is the most common cause of feet snapping off. Let them drain upside down on a cloth and dry them with a linen cloth so no limescale streaks are left behind.

If you would rather look around more broadly first, the full range sits under wine glasses and more specifically under red wine glasses. For smaller tasting sizes there is a separate overview of tasting glasses, and sparkling wine is covered under champagne glasses. You let a bottle breathe in one of the decanters, and an opened bottle keeps better with wine stoppers. If you are hesitating between handmade and machine-made glassware, the rule of thumb is simple: handmade feels lighter on the lips, machine-made stands up better to a busy table.