If You’re Going To Buy One Wine Glass, Here’s What To Go For

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Wine devotees know the glass dilemma. There are all kinds of different style glasses out there, each one with a specific function. If you’re not a huge wine drinker, but you like to have a glass every now and then, you should still have the best wine glass for the job.

If you’re drinking cheap wine or wine from a bag, by all means, use a solo cup. But, if you invest more than $15 on a bottle of wine and you want to maximize all of the flavors, you’ll want at least one nice glass on hand. A Bordeaux glass can take on almost any type of wine.

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Enjoying your wine is all about the aromas. A glass with an increased surface area is the best for releasing all of the natural aromas. The Sweethome, a product review site that’s owned by The New York Times Company, tested 50 different wine glasses and came up with a recommendation for reasonably priced Kentfield Estate glasses. The New York Times reports that when you’re looking for the right glass, a solid all-purpose stemmed glass should be vertically shaped, with a tall bowl area that opens wide toward the bottom and gets narrow towards the top.

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Swirling the glass exposes the wine to air, which enhances its flavor. For the purpose of swirling freely, a narrow glass prevents the wine from spilling over the sides and it collects all of the aromas so you can easily smell them. If the glass had a wider opening and a shallow bowl, it would spill pretty easily when you go to swirl the glass. The Bordeaux has the ideal vertical shape.

The Wine Journal reports that the Bordeaux glass is perfect for at-home wine consumption. In the article, Nick Morisi, the sommelier at Yvonne’s in Boston, suggests the Spiegelau Bordeaux glass. You can get a set of four for $30. Morisi says they’re “affordable, practical and durable, yet the glass still feels elegant in your hand.”

Unless you’re a sommelier or a wine collector, you really don’t need dozens of glasses filling up your cabinet. If you’re looking for one wine glass to check most of your boxes (or you don’t really care about specifics and just want a suggestion) go for the Bordeaux.