wine glasses

So I'm not really a wine drinker. That's not to say I don't drink wine, but rather that I only drink it when I'm with other people who are drinking wine. So to this point the wine glasses I got for free from the Boston Wine Expo some years ago have done the trick. Compared to the beautiful tulips and goblets I have for beer, those wine glasses look pretty sad.

However, now that I'm hosting people more often, I think it's time to invest in some proper wine glasses. I see this as a lifetime investment. Buy great wine glasses one time and never have to bother again. That's not to say I'm looking to buy expensive glasses, but rather that I'd like to buy nice ones that won't need to be replaced when the quality of wine being poured in my house increases. And who knows, maybe one day I'll get more interested in wine. Besides, I'm probably going to ask for wine glasses for my birthday/Christmas until I feel my set is complete, so might as well ask for good stuff.

I'm planning on getting 4 glasses in two or three styles. What do people recommend? Do I need one set for white and one set for red, or realistically do I need more than that. I'm definitely all for serving things in the proper glassware but I don't want dozens of wine glasses lying around either.

Thanks

At the very least, you can get away with one general-purpose glass for both reds and whites, but it makes for a much better presentation if you have the larger, somewhat flatter glasses for reds. But if you plan to include sparklers in your repertoire, flutes are a must. I like Speigelau glasses - they're supposed dishwasher-safe, although I wouldn't put them in the dishwasher myself. But they are rather sturdy in addition to being elegant.

I'd look at the Riedel collection at Target. They come in 4's and run about $38 a set. You'd could go pinots for red and white and get eight or get 4 red, 4 white. Personally, I also like the champagnes. I really like drinking bubbly out of a flute. With Reidel, you can always replace as they break. If you go with something from say crate and barrel, you risk seasonal discontinuations.

I like Schott Zweisel. Good quality, not terribly priced.

If you're buying three types, I'd go with a set of white wine glasses, a set of red wine glasses, and a set of champagne glasses. You can build from there. I have SZ's "Fortissimo" line at home, and from those basic three styles, I've added specialty glasses for rosé, sauvignon blanc, bordeaux, etc., but I drink a lot of wine.

HI

It is nice not to have to use the same glass over if you are serving more than one different sort of wine in the evening (sparkling to white to red, for instance).

I would go for white, basic red and if you drink sparkling, flutes (you can always drink sparkling out of the white glasses, but flutes are more fun and show off the bubbles). The bigger bowl glasses (on the Target site they are listed for Pinot Noir or Burgundy) really aren't necessary - though they do make Pinot Noir taste better, and if you think you'll be drinking a lot of Pinot Noir, go for it. (see viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2089&p=138413#p138413 for my scientific proof and hey, invite me over for drinks

The Target ones look nice (haven't seen them in person, though). We have some REALLY nice Orrefors wine glasses we got for our wedding and we almost never use them, even if it's just the two of us. We have friends who are really wine people, and after they broke 2 of their fancy wine glasses in a row they took all the rest back and got ones from Crate and Barrel (and spent the difference on wine)

Thanks for all the help!

I actually found a great deal on Amazon for Spiegelau Vino Vino glasses. If I get three sets, I get a fourth for free. So I went ahead and got 4 Red, 4 White, 4 Flutes and 4 Bordeaux. I figure the Bordeaux will work great for beer too, so it's a win. Amazon gift cards really are my favorite gift of all anyway.

Looking forward to sampling some wine out of proper glassware.

turkob wrote: I see this as a lifetime investment. Buy great wine glasses one time and never have to bother again.

OK this is the funniest thing I've read in weeks....

My advice is to buy double what you think you need and
to not wash wine glasses the same night you have been drinking
Glasses do break....

The Amazon deals can be GREAT!

Ha, yeah I didn't really think about the breaking part. I'm clumsy as hell, so I should probably buy triple. We'll see how it goes.

A while ago, we all but stopped using stemware and started using straight-sided bistro-style glasses. Like this:
http://www.poshchicago.com/product.asp? ... d=PSH00001

We enjoy wine, but the vast majority of what we drink is very inexpensive (table wine) or non-complex young wines that I don't believe are enhanced by specific glassware.

We've found that our guests enjoy these glasses and they don't break all that easily.

We still have stemware but they've slipped into "special occasion" territory.

When we first bought some of these glasses, I didn't think we'd use them that much, but within a year they turned into the glasses that I kept going back to. The price can't be beat. They're worth having around.

Best,
Michael

mhill95149 wrote:My advice is to buy double what you think you need and
to not wash wine glasses the same night you have been drinking
Glasses do break....

Truer words were never spoken. I average 1-2 broken glasses per gathering and invariably this occurs during the clean up process!! Add "washing wine glasses" to driving, posting on Facebook, and having important relationship discussions to the list of things one should never do after drinking list

I personally love the larger bowl glasses for red or white--preferably with a fairly thin lip--so finding cheap options (since these are inevitably the MOST breakable kind) is a necessity. CB2 and CB outlet have served me well.

We don't break much in my house, but glassware is the exception. Drinking glasses form suicide pacts and leap off the counter in pairs. After many years of receiving a dozen glasses from my sister-in-law for Christmas every year, I have finally brought about glassware stability, mental and physical. We use pint Mason jars for water and so on, and I bought some stemless wineglasses and haven't broken one. Okay, they might be stemless tealight holders, I dunno, but they are 9 oz. and look like wineglasses, and they go in the dishwasher.

I follow the opposite philosophy of buying cheap wine glasses in bulk, Ikea wine glasses more specifically, 3.99 for 6...and they have different glasses for red and white wine. I usually get 6 boxes at a time, and reload when needed...but I'm a heavy wine drinker and host quite a bit.

I got packs of the stemless Riedel red and white glasses from Target when I redid my kitchen. Some person, cat, or dog would invariably tip over the old glasses with stems, which were college-era and ugly anyway. The stemless also fit in my dishwasher next to the water glasses.

I've learned the hard way to always overbuy glasses and dishes that you like, so I have my stash of unopened glasses waiting.