Arcoroc Brio

The choice comes down to two things: how much you pour and how long the bubbles need to last. The flute of 9.5 cl is the small welcome size, with which you get well over twice as many glasses out of a single bottle compared with a generous pour. The flute of 16 cl is the ordinary table size and its narrow shape holds the foam longest. The coupe of 20 cl is wide and shallow, so the bubbles leave it faster, but it is the classic glass for shaken cocktails served without ice. Together the two shapes cover almost every occasion.

Always pour sparkling wine at an angle down the side and only bring the glass upright once it is half full; the foam then stays within the rim and you lose less carbonation. Fill a flute to about three quarters and no higher, because the top centimetres are exactly where the aroma gathers. Use the coupe of 20 cl for a french 75 with gin and bubbles, or for a bellini with peach. A mimosa with orange juice works in either shape, incidentally.

Stemmed glasses almost never break because of the dishwasher itself, but because of the way they stand in it. Place them well apart, do not let the stems lean against anything and choose a glassware programme at a low temperature. When drying a flute, always hold it at the bottom and never twist the bowl while keeping the foot still, because that is exactly where the stem snaps. Afterwards, let the glasses air upright rather than upside down on a tea towel.

The rest of this maker's range is at Arcoroc. To see the shapes side by side, take a look at the champagne glasses, or go straight to the champagne flutes and the champagne coupes. For the recipes that go with these glasses there is the overview of cocktails, where you can see which glass belongs to each drink.