Chef & Sommelier Exaltation

The 38 cl wine glass is the smallest and suits white wine you want to keep chilled. The 47 cl is the size most tables get by with, right for red and for full-bodied white. The 55 cl is meant for powerful red wine and gives it enough air to open up. With sparkling wine it works differently: the 30 and 35 cl flutes are wider than the narrow flutes you are used to, so more aroma comes off the champagne. For more sizes, have a look at the red wine glasses and the champagne flutes.

Hold the glass by the stem rather than the bowl; at this length that is also the most natural grip. Pour wine to about a third and champagne to a little over half, so the bubbles keep room to rise. Pouring at an angle works better for sparkling wine than straight down. A roomy flute is also the better shape for a kir royal or a french 75, where you want to smell the gin and the liqueur as well.

A long stem sounds fragile, but here it joins the bowl without a glued or fused seam; bowl, stem and foot are drawn from a single piece of glass. That seam is exactly where cheap wine glasses break. The dishwasher is fine on a short programme, but give the stems room in the basket. In the cupboard, stand them upright rather than on the rim.

If you want a lower, more stable bowl for everyday use, the other Chef & Sommelier series are a more logical starting point. If you are after even wider bowls for burgundy, you will find those among the large wine glasses. And if you serve champagne at the table, one of the champagne coolers keeps the bottle at temperature without having to put it away.