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Does The Shape Of Your Wine Glass Actually Matter?

How to upgrade your pour, at every price.
three wine glasses filled at various stages with water

Produced by Aimee Nishitoba. Photo, Carmen Cheung. Prop Styling, Madeleine Johari.

Yes, we noticed that you don’t have any wine glasses. That’s fine if you’re sober, don’t have the cabinet space or simply don’t care for them. But we also get that picking the right wineglass can be as daunting as picking the wine itself. It’s easy to simply give up, but winemakers around the world agree: A wineglass is just a vessel you choose to put wine in. There are no hard and fast rules around material, style or shape. In 2023, anything goes. From casual park cups to the bougiest of blown glass, we found three versatile options that are well-suited to wine—and look great to boot.

three wine glasses filled at various stages with water Produced by Aimee Nishitoba. Photo, Carmen Cheung. Prop Styling, Madeleine Johari.

Final Touch ISO Tasting Glass, $40 for 6

Many have moved on from the clunky oversized goblets of the past in favour of nimble “universal” styles that work for just about anything—wine, cider, sake, you name it. ISO glasses have gained traction with the natural-wine set in Europe, who equate smaller sips with smarter consumption.

Five wine glasses with stems in a line; the leftmost is half-filled with white wine, while the rightmost is half-filled with red wine

Duralex Picardie, $37 for 6

You don’t need a stem glass to drink nice wine, but the heat from your fingers will warm your wine faster if you go stemless. A thick bistro tumbler made for stacking has the lowest chance of breaking in transport—perfect for having a little Lambrusco on a red checkered blanket.

A tumbler glass for wine
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Zalto Universal, $99 each

For your fanciest friends, the gold standard is undeniably the Zalto. Made in Austria and famously blown from a single piece of glass, these ultra-thin vessels are surprisingly resilient and turn an ordinary glass of wine into an almost religious experience.

A wine glass with a stem

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