Schott Zwiesel Finesse

The four bowls step up in capacity, and that capacity tells you what each glass is meant for. The 39 cl chardonnay glass is wider than an ordinary white wine glass, just enough to coax the buttery aroma out of an oak-aged white. The 44 cl red wine glass is the everyday size for a merlot or a chianti. Above that the range splits into the 63 cl bordeaux glass, tall and narrow, which settles firm tannins, and the 66 cl burgundy glass, wide and rounded, made for pinot noir and nebbiolo. The 30 cl champagne glass is roomier than a classic flute. Compare if you like with all our red wine glasses and white wine glasses.

Fill a bowl to the widest point of the belly and no higher. In the 66 cl burgundy that is roughly a third, in the 44 cl red wine glass a little over half. Then swirl gently: the space above the wine is the real instrument of these glasses. Top up white wine in smaller pours, so the glass in your hand does not warm up. Hold every glass in this range by the stem and not around the bowl, however tempting that is with a large burgundy glass.

Finesse is made from Tritan crystal glass. Titanium and zirconium in the melt make the glass harder at the rim and better able to cope with the temperature swings of a dishwasher, which with a rim this thin is the difference between years of pleasure and a chipped edge after a month. Wash at a maximum of sixty degrees, place the glasses separately in the basket and let them drain upright. Limescale streaks come off with a linen cloth while the glass is still hand-warm.

Looking for the same design language in a different price bracket or another size? Then browse the full range of Schott Zwiesel glasses. To let a young red breathe first, turn to the decanters and the wine aerators. For an aperitif with bubbles, the recipes for a Kir Royal and a French 75 are ready and waiting, and the roomier champagne glass from this range suits them better than a narrow flute.