Best Wine Glassware
A guide to wine glassware in Australia.
What you really need is one very good all-purpose glass, a few of them, and the discipline not to put the best or most fragile ones in the dishwasher.
I've bought and used a lot of Spiegelau glasses over the years, both before and after their acquisition by Riedel. I've bought and used Schott Zwiesel, Gabriel-Glas and Luigi Bormioli glasses less commonly, but for a span of months here and there, and enjoyed using them. During my Halliday chief editor period I had Riedel Ouverture Magnum glasses, and some other Riedel glassware, supplied free of charge, and used these both then and (mostly) still.
I've never been paid by a glass manufacturer, attended an event or trip, or received any kind of compensation whatsoever from a glass manufacturer. I have no bias other than towards beauty and towards use. I currently use Riedel Ouverture, because I have the glassware and they work – but I'm likely to make a complete change shortly.
I still get excited when a waiter or sommelier takes away my standard wine glass and brings out something finer or, dare I say it, larger. I'm not at all opposed to a bit of theatre in my wine glasses – not when I'm drinking, rather than tasting, anyway. Even after 25+ years of professional wine reviewing, and despite the fact that I hand-wash 20 or 30 wine glasses five or six days a week, every week, I still enjoy the feel of a good wine glass, and still get quite specific.
In fact, let me say it out loud: I love a good wine glass.
You could say the glass is the least interesting part of wine, right up until it isn't. True to an extent – but I get pleasure out of the look, feel, shape and finesse of the glass itself. Besides: rim thickness (a biggie for me) changes how the wine arrives on the palate. Bowl shape decides how much air the wine meets and where the aromatics gather. This is not mysticism; this is real.
The "not real but crucial" bit is personal preference. Some people want function over everything and just want the glass to get out of the way. Some value theatre and finesse and tell practicality to go to hell. Most of us fall somewhere in between, depending on the day.
When I first started in wine, the famed ISO XL5 glass was still prominent – it was even used at wine shows. Those days are long over. The old XL5 was sturdy, and worked well enough for fortifieds. That we've all moved on from it tells you how far we've come.
The glory of the universal glass
If I'd written this guide twenty years ago, I'd have been tempted to run through every varietal-specific glass out there. That was never really my thing, though it was the prevailing view in "fine wine" circles for a couple of decades. That thinking has given way – I'd argue – to a single, well-judged shape that flatters almost everything from Riesling to Grenache to Cabernet. The everyday, and more, is a really good universal glass, complemented by the odd special-occasion glass.
I'm not going to recommend a fourteen-piece varietal arsenal as a prerequisite to drinking well at home. Here's what I'd actually reach for. If I've missed an important glass, contact me – I'm happy to treat this as a live document.
Zalto
When Zalto first hit Australia, around 2010, it caused a stir in a way not really seen since the arrival of Riedel in the late 80s and early 90s. Everyone was talking Zalto. The Austrian, mouth-blown Denk'Art range – the Universal in particular – feels unbelievably thin, feather-light in the hand, and disappears against your lip in a way machine-made glass rarely manages.
Drinking from a Denk'Art Universal is, without doubt, a beautiful experience. If you've never done it, you should. They're $70–80 a glass and I'd argue they're worth it. I don't personally buy Zalto, because they break easily, I break glasses often, and I don't earn enough to sustain that habit. But the quality of the drinking experience cannot be disputed.
Grassl
Zalto had the ultra-thin landscape mostly to itself for a time – Riedel ever-present – but the new "in" range is the Vigneron Series by Grassl Glass. Ultra-stylish, ultra-thin, beautifully weighted and balanced, all in the context of bird-bone fragility.
The 1855, which holds 760 ml, with a great bottle of cabernet or shiraz, is a best-with-best experience. The Liberté (460 ml) is the more universal option. Everyone's different, so take this with a grain: I like my daily to hold a little more than 460 ml. But you'll never hear me complain about a Grassl glass, Liberté or otherwise.
Plumm
Plumm is Australian, widely used, loved, and a great option. The naming is slightly confusing: the range to hone in on is Plumm Three, and within it a glass called No.1 – the most universal of the range, holding 610 ml, a volume I like very much.
Pick it up, with or without wine, and the first thing you notice is the balance – beautifully designed and engineered. The second is the sturdiness. These are robust; they allow a great drinking experience and let you relax at the same time. The ultimate "don't get in the way" glasses. They feel good and they work.
The No.1 has an RRP of $57 but can regularly be found around $40. I recently bought a two-pack and it's not quite right for me – slightly too robust in feel, and given how many I need, a touch too exxy. For after-hours drinking, though, I'm eyeing the bigger-bowled No.3: more Nebbiolo, grenache, pinot and chardonnay appropriate, and I love that I could put it in the dishwasher.
Spiegelau
If someone asks for one manufacturer that punches wildly above its price, Spiegelau is the enduring, honest answer. German, part of the Riedel group, unbeatable on price, and a wonderful drinking experience. The Definition Universal (550 ml, ~$30) is right up there with Zalto and Grassl for thinness – put it this way, I wouldn't dream of putting one in a dishwasher, and I wouldn't hesitate to serve my most cherished wines to the prime minister in them. Definition also comes as a Burgundy (960 ml): equally thin, equally wonderful, equally fragile.
I'd use these for daily work in a heartbeat – but they're too fragile for it; I'd be a nervous wreck. Spiegelau does make a sturdier version of the same shapes under its Hi-Lite range (~$20), and they're genuine contenders as my replacements. Worth noting: Definition's RRP is $30 but it can be found for $22, which is insane value.
Riedel
You can't write about wine glassware without Riedel. They make excellent glasses, everyday or special. As mentioned, I've used the Ouverture Magnum for years – happily and successfully. Riedel has everyone covered: Vinum (machine-made, the durable everyday tier), Veritas (finer, lighter, still machine-made), and Sommeliers (mouth-blown, premium, priced accordingly). For most people Vinum or Veritas is the sweet spot (and personally I have a particular soft spot for the Riedel Veritas Old World Pinot Noir glass).
If you've always used Riedel, or you're in the market for it, you can't lose. They work. They're wonderful. In the larger-volume, larger-bowled options especially, they make a great choice.
Gabriel-Glas
Gabriel-Glas built its whole identity around a single idea: the one glass for everything, the "One for All" of wine glasses. I know a lot of professional wine people who use the StandArt version, and they do because it is essentially the perfect universal glass. In shape and design it looks and feels classic – the Audrey Hepburn of glassware. It costs $30–45 a stem, depending on where you shop and how many you buy.
If I had to use one glass and one glass only for the rest of my life (#killmenow), my choice would likely be Gabriel-Glas. There's also a finer, more upmarket Gold version, which I don't have much conscious experience with.
Pinot Noir & Nebbiolo
It's been referenced above, but I'll say it once more: the universal glass, made by your manufacturer of choice, is all you really need. It will serve every wine type well, still or sparkling. But there's a time when breaking out the bigger glassware has its place. For me, that's most commonly with pinot noir and nebbiolo – though "modern" grenache, and indeed chardonnay, can have me running for the glass cabinet too.
Retire the coupe and the flute
For a long time we argued against the champagne coupe in favour of the flute. From the flute we morphed – thankfully – into sparkling glasses with a bit more bowl, so we could enjoy the aromatics and give the wine a better chance to shine. Now we often just use the universal glass for sparkling too, especially when it's quality wine that happens to have bubbles in it. In any case: don't use a coupe or a flute.
A few things that matter more than the brand
- Hand-wash the good ones. Heat, detergent and jostling are what kill fine glass – as well as accidents.
- Store them upright, not rim-down, and never wedged.
- Buy the fragile ones knowing you'll break them. Everyone does. Factor replacement into your considerations.
- Match the glass to the occasion. Ultra-fine is great, but so is practicality.
Line drawings are hand-made · prices indicative