Tall bowl, relatively straight sides, slight taper at the top. The generous surface area promotes oxygen contact, which softens tannin and allows the fruit to come forward in bold reds. The taper concentrates aromas and delivers wine to the centre of the palate, moderating the impact of structure and alcohol.

This is the most versatile red wine glass on the market. If a table has only one type of red glass, it should be this one.

Suits: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Bordeaux blends, Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, most full-bodied New World reds.

Not suited to: Lighter reds. Beaujolais and delicate Pinot Noir get lost in this bowl: their aromatics dissipate and their structure seems thin.

Wide, balloon-shaped bowl, typically shorter than the Bordeaux glass. The large surface area is designed for Pinot Noir's complex but shy aromatic profile, encouraging maximum aeration to develop the tertiary notes that make fine Burgundy interesting. The tapered rim then concentrates those aromas efficiently.

Some Burgundy glasses have a slightly outturned lip that deposits wine at the tip of the tongue first, leading with Pinot's fruit character before any acidity or bitterness registers. Worth knowing when recommending to a guest who finds Pinot too tart.

These are typically the most fragile glasses on the rack. The wide bowl and thin glass are a deliberate trade-off for sensory performance.

Suits: Pinot Noir, Gamay (Cru Beaujolais), Nebbiolo (Barolo and Barbaresco), lighter Grenache, lighter Sangiovese, rosé Champagne.

The tallest of the red wine glasses. The elongated bowl with a pronounced taper does something specific: it sequences the aromatic experience, bringing fruit forward first and allowing the pepper, spice, and tannin to register afterwards. Without this sequencing, Syrah's aromatic range can present as an indistinct mass rather than a layered profile.

The height also gives alcohol vapour room to dissipate before it reaches the nose. Relevant for Australian Shiraz, which can reach 15-16% ABV. In a shorter glass, the alcohol dominates and the fruit is lost.

Suits: Northern Rhône Syrah, Australian Shiraz, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, GSM blends, Tannat, Montepulciano.

Resembles a scaled-down Burgundy bowl. The shape is not coincidental: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are Burgundy's two principal grapes, and the kinship between their glasses reflects the same terroir-driven winemaking philosophy. The wider bowl gives complex, oak-aged whites space to develop their secondary aromatics: butter, toast, vanilla, hazelnut. The narrower opening than the Burgundy glass preserves freshness and directs wine to the mid-palate, where the balance of fruit, acidity, and oak is best appreciated.

The bowl also allows the wine to warm slightly in service, which is intentional. Full-bodied whites like Chardonnay are typically served at 10-13°C; too cold and the oak and fruit compress into flatness.

Suits: Oaked Chardonnay (including white Burgundy), white Rioja, fuller styles of Pinot Gris (especially Alsace), richer Chenin Blanc, Pouilly-Fuissé, orange wines.

Taller and slimmer than the Chardonnay glass, with a narrower opening. The design addresses a specific problem: aromatic, high-acid whites like Sauvignon Blanc have explosive primary fruit that needs containing, not expanding. A wider bowl would allow those aromas to dissipate; the narrower vessel concentrates them vertically.

The narrower opening also directs wine to the centre of the tongue rather than the sides, softening the perception of acidity. This is the glass that most demonstrably changes how a wine tastes. Serve a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in a generic white wine glass and then in a proper Sauvignon Blanc glass and the same wine reads as two different products. The correct glass tames the sharpness without losing the character.

Suits: Sauvignon Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Vermentino, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, Vouvray, younger unoaked Sémillon, Tokaji.

Sits between the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay glass in proportion: tall and tapered to concentrate fruit and floral aromatics, but with slightly straighter sides than the Sauvignon Blanc glass to allow a controlled amount of oxygen contact. The shape suits wines that need both aromatic preservation and a degree of aeration: Riesling spans bone dry to lusciously sweet, and the glass handles that entire spectrum without compromise.

The pairing with Zinfandel is counterintuitive but logical. Both wines are fruit-forward and aromatic, both have notable acidity, and both benefit from a glass that showcases fruit while moderating sharpness or spice.

Suits: Riesling, Gewürztraminer, lighter Zinfandel, Chianti, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (red), Valpolicella, Cinsault, Crozes-Hermitage.

Tall, narrow, maximises bubble persistence. That is the flute's primary virtue and its only real one. The narrow opening severely limits aroma development, which was acceptable when Champagne was valued primarily as a celebratory drink rather than a complex wine. As a format for the visual theatre of service, it still has a place. As a format for tasting a serious Champagne, it is actively unhelpful.

Wider in the bowl than the flute, tapering at the top. The practical compromise: bubbles are preserved, aromatics are allowed to develop and concentrate at the narrower rim. This is the correct default for most sparkling wine service where aroma and effervescence both matter. It is the standard recommendation for quality Champagne in a professional setting.

Major houses, including Krug, Dom Pérignon, and Ruinart, now recommend serving their prestige and vintage cuvées in white wine glasses. This is not affectation. Vintage Champagne is predominantly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that has developed secondary and tertiary aromas through extended ageing: brioche, toast, orchard fruit, mineral. A wider bowl allows these to express fully. The trade-off is faster bubble dissipation, but in fine Champagne the mousse is fine and persistent enough to sustain a tasting regardless.

For service purposes: flute for Prosecco and non-vintage house Champagne, tulip as the professional standard, white wine glass for aged and prestige cuvées where the aromatic complexity justifies it.

Worth addressing because guests ask. The flat, wide bowl causes rapid bubble loss and disperses aromas before they can be appreciated. Its 20th-century popularity owed more to aesthetics and cocktail culture than to wine service. The story that it was modelled on Marie Antoinette's anatomy is good and almost certainly false. The design predates her by around a century. Keep it for cocktails. Sparkling wine deserves better.