Luigi Bormioli Supremo

Start with the wine you pour most often. The 35 cl bowl is meant for chardonnay and other white wine that needs to stay cool: the smaller the capacity, the sooner the glass is empty and the less the wine warms up. The 45 cl suits chianti and pinot grigio and is the most versatile size in the range. For bordeaux, take the 55 cl, where the narrower bowl focuses the tannins. The 65 cl Burgundy is the widest and is meant for pinot noir. If you are unsure, compare with the large wine glasses and the white wine glasses.

Do not fill a bowl beyond the widest point. In the 65 cl Burgundy that is about 15 cl, in the 35 cl bowl around 10 cl. That leaves enough air above the wine to smell it and room to swirl. The 24 cl flute is narrow enough to hold the bubbles for a long time and works just as well for dry champagne as for a kir royal or a champagne cocktail.

The bowls are crystalline glass drawn in one piece, so there is no glued join between foot and stem. That saves breakage at exactly the point where wine glasses normally give way first. They are dishwasher safe, but stand them upright in a rack with compartments and not leaning against one another. The thin rim remains the most vulnerable part.

To see what else the brand makes, take a look at Luigi Bormioli. If Supremo is too roomy for your cupboard, more compact bowls are gathered among the red wine glasses. If you are mainly after a glass for sparkling wine, all the shapes are under champagne flutes. And if you want to let a young red breathe first, do that in one of the decanters.