Luigi Bormioli Diamante

The names of the bowls are a hint, not a rule. The 38 cl Riesling is narrow and tall, which keeps aromatic white wine cold and its acidity together. The 52 cl Chianti is wider and suits juicy red wine such as sangiovese. The 65 cl gin and tonic glass is the largest of the series and is meant to be filled with ice. The 38 cl double tumbler is the size for whisky with one large block, the 48 cl highball for mixed drinks. Compare the bowls with other brands at red wine glasses.

On cut glass, a garnish works harder visually than on plain glass, because the cutting picks up its colour. For a gin and tonic, fill the 65 cl glass to the top with ice, pour 5 cl of gin and let the tonic run down the side. A slice of pink grapefruit then colours the whole cut pattern. In the 38 cl tumbler you build an Old Fashioned directly in the glass, with one block and a squeezed strip of orange peel.

Cut glass mainly asks for soft water. Limescale settles in the grooves of the cutting and is harder to polish away there than from a smooth wall. In a hard-water area, use rinse aid or rinse afterwards with demineralised water. The glass itself is hard enough for the dishwasher: it is the limescale, not the heat, that dulls the cutting over time.

The brand's other series are at Luigi Bormioli. Other sizes for a gin and tonic are under gin and tonic glasses, wider tumblers at Old Fashioned glasses and straight models among the highball glasses in every size. The flute sits alongside the rest under champagne flutes. And if you are after a narrower bowl for aromatic white wine, those are grouped together by capacity.