Even after everyone at the table had consumed several glasses each,
there was still half a bottle of wine left at the end of dinner.

Extra special occasions merited my sister's inheritance from
her Godmother - a set of garish multi-coloured glasses which, while
larger, were 100 per cent successful in disguising the colour of the
wine we were drinking.

We all have our preferences for the kind of glasses we like to
drink our wine from, but here are a few things I think make a nice wine
glass.

The Glass - thin and clear

A simple clear, (i.e. not decoratively chiseled or embossed) wine
glass allows you to appreciate the colour of the wine.
It's also good if the glass is thin. The reason for this it simply
because thin glasses are lighter and nicer to drink wine from (in much
the same way tea tastes better drunk from fine china).

Size - bigger bowls are better
A glass with a larger capacity
is great for enjoying the great aromatics wine offers - it allows you
to swirl and sniff without danger of losing any overboard or up your
nose. Wine drunk this way, with plenty of room to aerate is given the
best opportunity to shine.

Look out for glasses with bowls with good depth and reasonable
diameter, but not so wide you are in danger of losing your face inside
them every time you take a sip. Also, before buying the biggest glasses
you can find, ask yourself 'how many time in my life will I actually
need a glass that can hold two litres of wine?'

My one exception would be champagne glasses. The narrow glass
or 'flute' as it is called is best for serving sparkling wine as it has
far less surface area for those precious bubbles to escape.

Different glasses for different varieties?

There's no need to go and purchase glasses exclusively for drinking
certain varieties of wine (except perhaps for sparkling wine) when a
well chosen multi-purpose glass is all you need.

Stem or Stemless?

This all depends on your personal taste. Glasses with stems prevent
greasy finger marks and heating your wine up with your hand. However,
the modern stemless tumbler is great for cosying up with a glass of
warming red and let's faces it, they look so damn cool!