10 best wine glasses, according to an expert

Crystalline glass (made using lead oxide) is a more malleable and supple form of glass, which has the benefit of being more durable and hard-wearing – and therefore fully dishwasher proof, which is always a bonus.

Apart from these durable qualities, this set from Krosno offers a simple but very stylish shape with a full bowl and a narrow stem. The glass also has beautiful clarity, which helped to fully reveal the colour of the wine during testing. The larger glass size is ideal for red wine, so if this is your tipple of choice, you won’t go wrong with a set of these glasses.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a bit of texture on your wine glass. These glasses from Habitat have a distinctive, Art Deco-adjacent ribbing around the bowl that’s attractive to the touch and makes them stand out from other designs.

Dishwasher-proof, the glasses are ideal for everyday use and suit red, white and even sparkling wine. The price makes them an attractive purchase, too.

Here’s a wine glass that’s different to any of the others in this roundup. The clue is in the name: les impitoyables (the merciless). In other words, it’s a tasting glass that’s designed to pick out any of the flaws or indeed qualities of the wine you’re drinking.

As such, this specially designed handmade glass has cavities at the side and bottom, which enable the drinker to hold it with thumb and finger, without warming the contents. As a result, the full nature and aroma of the wine are revealed. It may be pricey, but this is a real connoisseur’s glass.

In this age of recycling, using old glass to make something new gets a big thumbs up, as it helps reduce the amount of glass going to landfill.

In this case, the result is a handsome-looking glass with a sturdy stem and ample bowl, complete with the odd air bubble or two, giving each glass individual appeal. Even better, the design is very reasonably priced, too.

Some wine buffs may complain that smoked glass doesn’t reveal the full glory of a wine’s hue – vintage or otherwise. But then the smoky, charcoal-like shading at the base of a generous bowl does give these Denby glasses a distinctive and overwhelmingly attractive look.

However, with a generous pour of wine, there’s enough clear glass to judge the vino’s colour, and I certainly enjoyed drinking out of this style during testing.

Many of us will associate Mary Berry with a perfect Victoria sponge (sans soggy bottom) rather than wine glasses, but this is a surprisingly terrific set, worthy of any dining table.

Sturdy and robust, the glasses feature thick stems and a very generous bowl. It’s hard to knock these over, but some people might find it tricky to hold these glasses by the stem because of their squat design. That being said, swirl some white wine in the large bowl, and you should get a noseful of aroma.

Fancy going stemless? This pair of generous-sized tumblers, named after the Danish word for ‘cheers’, are double walled. That means they’re two glasses in one, a little like a vacuum flask. There’s a hydrophobic silicone vent on the bottom to equalise the air pressure between the two layers of glass.

In layman’s terms, that means that anything cold poured into the glass remains cool for longer, and anything hot won’t burn your fingertips. They don’t have a stem, so you’re less likely to knock these over, and they’re easy to fit in a dishwasher.

The tumbler design might not be for everyone, but it offers a modern take on the humble wine glass and will work for other tipples too. Just keep in mind these glasses are on the large side, making them quite a handful.

This is where I go against the accepted rules. It’s said that champagne should be served in glasses that are tulip-shaped, to allow for optimal enjoyment of the aroma and bouquet. Well, rules are there to be challenged if not broken, and this is a champagne saucer that harks back to the days when wide-bowled glasses were de rigueur among the Parisian elite.

Handblown into a mould, these coupes are delicate and stylish with a lightly rippled surface that provides a beautiful frame for sparkling bubbly. Tasting from them almost makes you feel as if you’ve moved back a century or so and are ready for a night at the Folies Bergère.

‘Quirky’ is perhaps the word for designer Yvonne Ellen’s growing range of home and giftware items, on which slogans and nifty little designs abound. One of her trademark illustrations is the bumblebee, with these glasses featuring a lifelike representation, plus a fan pattern design and “liquid therapy” slogan.

Drinking-wise, it has a generous bowl suitable for both red and white wines, and the gold-tipped rim is thin enough to help savour that first sip. The decorations do mean that it’s handwash only, though.

Here’s another embellished design, with this set of four glasses featuring Cath Kidston’s Hampstead rose pattern. With matching tableware available, it has to be admitted that these glasses do look very attractive, with hand-painted scarlet rims providing an eye-catching feature.

However, it isn’t just style over substance. This glass is also well-suited to wine connoisseurs. The stem is not too narrow, the rim is nice and thin, and the well-shaped bowl can cater for red or white wines.