Glassware

This topic used to be called stemware, but the proliferation of stemless wine glasses opens up the field to different styles of containers.

If you flip through a wine catalogue it will be easy to get confused at the different shaped glasses. There's at least one for each type. When in doubt, stick to the grape basics:

Red Wine Glass: Big and open at the top. Surface area is expansive to allow oxygen to release the bouquet. The recommended size for a table wineglass is 12 ounces of which four should be poured leaving room for a good swirl.

White Wine Glass: The bouquet of a white wine is generally subtler and more nuanced and requires less surface area, so traditional white wine glasses are slimmer. The thinner shape can better concentrate the delicate bouquets.

Champagne Flutes: These glasses are long and narrow-hence the name flute-which have a practical purpose. There is less surface area at the opening so the sparkling wine retains its bubbles longer. Recently some glassware makers have even put tiny dots on the inside of their champagne flutes so the bubbles are guided to make their ascent from the dots, floating upward and creating a symmetrical pattern. A flute holds about 6 ounces.

Aperitif glasses: Made for dessert wines are usually the smallest, holding just a few ounces.

If your cupboard only has room for one all-purpose wine glass, the California Wine Institute developed just such a glass. Measuring five and a half inches tall with a one and three quarter inch stem, its clear, tulip-shaped bowl has a capacity of eight ounces.

Meanwhile, stemless goblets have emerged as a favorite design. The only two drawbacks with stemless is that if you are holding onto the glass for any length of time you're more likely to warm the temperature of the wines with your body heat which can have an effect on its flavor, and you'll get fingerprints on the glass while trying to examine color and clarity.

The most popular glasses are made of crystal. For the longest time, wine glasses were made of leaded crystal. Now, titanium is being used in some glassware and the result is an impressive dishwasher-safe glass with all the elegance of leaded crystal.

Among the various styles, the choice is up to you. Wine glasses are meant to show off the wine at your table. And the best glassware allows you to get a good view of the wine color, appreciate its bouquet and, of course, match your table setting. There are dozens of styles in all price ranges, so finding something you're comfortable with has never been easier.