Royal Leerdam Grandeur

The 31-centiliter glass is intended for white wine: a small bowl with little surface area, which helps the wine stay cold longer and retain its freshness. The 43-centiliter glass is the all-rounder, ideal for both light red wine and full-bodied white wine. The 60-centiliter glass is designed for full-bodied red wine, which needs room to breathe and be swirled. For all three, plan to fill them about one-third full, so roughly twenty centiliters in the largest bowl. Feel free to compare them with the other red wine glasses and white wine glasses.

With a classic place setting, the water glass is positioned above and to the left of the plate, with the wine glasses set diagonally behind it in the order in which they will be used. The 48-centiliter tumbler serves as a water or soft-drink glass and is deliberately somewhat sturdier, so it does not tip over when someone reaches for it between the plates. The 22-centiliter flute is reserved for the start of the evening: a Kir Royal or a French 75 stays sparkling longer in this slender glass.

Grandeur is machine-drawn glass without lead, which means the wall thickness is even throughout and the glass copes well with changes in temperature. It is dishwasher safe, provided you stand the bowls upright and apart, because bowls leaning against one another break at the stem rather than at the rim. Let the machine air out afterwards with the door ajar and no limescale spots will be left on the thin rim.

If Past Grandeur is just not quite right for what is already in your cabinet, take a look at the rest of Royal Leerdam for series with the same sturdiness but a different design. Looking exclusively for bubbles? All models are lined up together under champagne flute glasses, from slim flutes to wider coupes. And if there is wine left in the bottle after dinner, wine stoppers will keep the rest drinkable for another day.