A wine glass is not just a wine glass. It is form and function, status and culture, history and modernity, all in a single object. It’s a tool we use to consume something highly sought after, and at the same time, the tool itself is a subject of great inquiry, even obsession. Some people are really into wine, but others are every bit as much consumed by the glass it’s served in.
There are dozens, perhaps even hundreds of wine glass manufacturers, large and small, heritage and upstart, producing glassware in nearly every corner of the world. There’s a deep history of glassware production in Central Europe dating back to the 19th century, and today it’s centered on makers in Austria (home to Zalto and Riedel, to name just two), Switzerland, and Germany. I tested products from fine glassware companies from across Europe as well as from England, Japan, and the United States, covering a broad spectrum of price points and styles, including our top pick for all types of wine, the Glassvin Universal ($79).
Whether you’re a casual user or a serious obsessive, upgrading your wine glass game is a window into the finer things in life, and an investment in your own pleasure and enjoyment for years to come. Don’t believe me? Blind-test any of the stems in this guide next to a simple Ikea Svalka or any other mass-produced cheap option—you’ll be amazed by the difference.
Be sure to check out our other kitchen guides, including the Best Mushroom Coffee, Best Coffee Grinders, Best Corkscrews, and Best Carbon Steel Pans.
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What Kind of Glass Stem Should I Buy?
Glass stemware is available in a broad range of styles, sizes, and price points, from hundred-year-old artisan glassware makers in Central Europe to new brands making their mark on the traditional glassware market. Price considerations of course come into play, but as with so many of the products we use and love in this modern world, the most expensive option is not always the best.
If you’re totally new to all of this, a great place to start is with a so-called universal glass—a stem that’s meant for use with any style of wine you desire, from red to white to sparkling. Nearly every brand of glassware produces a universal offering, but some brands only make a universal, offering a degree of specialization and care.
People who get really into stemware sometimes develop a sort of brand loyalty, exploring the full range of one single brand for all of their drinking needs. And indeed, it’s not uncommon for one firm to offer a half-dozen or more options of wine stem, specialized around the highly specific styles of wine meant to be served therein. A huge bowl stem might work beautifully for some red wines, but not all; a narrow, smaller glass might flatter certain white wines, but throttle others. Ultimately you’re into the land of subjectivity with this stuff, and at the end of the day the right wine glass for you is the one that feels best in your hands.
At the start of the year I solicited product samples from more than two dozen glass manufacturers, running the gamut of style, price, and nation of origin. I then spent several months living with this glassware, incorporating it into every facet of my daily life and drinking copious amounts of beverages from each. In addition to wine, every single wine glass tested for this feature was given a baseline test of mineral water—a topic I am passionate about—because fine mineral water from proper stemware is an immensely pleasurable drinking experience, and because the profound enjoyment one can find from a nice wine glass shouldn’t be limited only to those who consume alcohol.
Many of the featured brands offer specific glasses meant for certain styles of wine—the Grassl Mineralité, for example, is intended for “crisp, fresh” wines, whereas the Grassl 1885 is purposed for wines with “great complexity and body.” In such instances, I made a point of testing glassware with its intended serving suggestion first, before jumping around with other beverage styles and putting each glass through its paces.
In total I tested around 100 individual pieces of stemware over the past several months. Much swirling and consideration took place. It’s almost like, with so much to consider for this guide, I ran into the problem of having to funnel a vast amount of data toward something like a manageable and reader-friendly conclusion. I think it is perhaps worth mentioning that this level of hands-on testing—as opposed to, say, relying on press releases, sales sheets, and the almighty Google—appears to be for the most part unique among wine glassware articles currently available online. This is why you read WIRED.
Why Do I Need Multiple Wine Glasses?
You might be wondering—quite reasonably!—why anyone would need, care about, or want to consider all these different wine glass options. I think that’s an eminently fair question, one that I’ve thought about a great deal throughout the testing process for this story. For wine geeks, the right wine glass becomes a part of the wider milieu of geekery in which they inhabit, along with other accoutrements like wine bottle openers, wine refrigerators, and so on. But for many other kinds of consumers, wine glasses offer this sort of living node of beauty in their lives—we hold these works of art in our hands, and clink them together in celebration, and they stay with us throughout the evening, coming back to us again and again for another touch point.
I think stemware argues loudly for itself as an object of pleasure. A proper wine stem makes whatever you’re drinking taste better, and the tactile experience of sipping and swirling from a lovely stem can be deeply gratifying.