The puckish 2020 book How to Drink Wine: The Easiest Way to Learn What You Like declares what amounts to fighting words in some circles: “All you need is one all-purpose wine glass.” Co-authors Grant Reynolds, the sommelier and founder of the Dimes Square wine shop Parcelle, and Chris Stang, the founder of The Infatuation, take a highly democratic approach to sipping, going further with the dictum: “If you want a Champagne flute, too, go ahead and get one. But the only difference between drinking Champagne from a flute and Champagne from an all-purpose glass is how fancy you feel when you’re holding it.” They also note that all you really need is a cheap wine key—sorry, Rabbit—and that if you like Pinot Grigio that’s probably because it reminds you of water.
A Champagne flute—or coupe—might be the most famous of wine-specific glassware, but there’s an array of design details that claim to spotlight elements of whatever you’re drinking. A glass’s proportions are essential, especially the shape of the bowl, the height of the stem, the sharpness of a rim and the material it’s made from. And they’re priced accordingly, from five-dollar stemware at Crate & Barrel to a $420 pair of Baccarat Grand Burgundy glasses and a $4,500 crystal goblet from Lobmeyr.
Though you can certainly buy all kinds of glasses from high-end makers like Riedel and Zalto, or comparatively more affordable options like Wine Enthusiast’s Pirouette and Aria stemware, the fact that many brands offer a universal
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
