Arcoroc Viticole

The 12 cl glass is the pure tasting size: you pour three to four centilitres and keep enough room to swirl. For a tasting with several wines side by side, this is the glass that takes up the least space. The 21.5 cl model with a fill line is intended for businesses that serve wine by the glass, because the marks at 12 and 14 cl make the pour checkable, and this glass comes in twelves. The 31 cl is the ordinary wine size, roomy enough to double as a table glass.

Don't pour beyond a third. First look at colour and clarity against a white background, then swirl gently so the wine rides up the side of the glass and the aromas are released. Smell with your nose just inside the rim rather than above it, because that narrow opening is what concentrates the aroma. Then take a small sip and let it run across your whole tongue. Rinse with water between two wines. If you are serving something lighter at lunch, a mimosa or a kir royal suits the roomier model.

With tasting glasses, smell counts for more than with other glassware. A trace of detergent or the air of a closed cupboard comes back at you in the wine. So wash the Viticole with little detergent, rinse thoroughly and dry with a linen cloth. Store the glasses upright rather than on their rim, because an upturned glass takes on the smell of the shelf. The glass is tempered and dishwasher safe, provided you keep the stems clear of each other.

More of this brand is under Arcoroc glasses. If you are after other models to taste with, have a look at the tasting glasses. For ordinary table glassware, the bowls are among the white wine glasses and the red wine glasses. If you work in hospitality and need glasses with a fill line, start with the hospitality glasses, where the glassware geared to measured pouring is listed.