Royal Leerdam

Choose the series first and the size second, because most series run across several types of glass. If you want one family across the whole table, L'Esprit du Vin and Gilde are the most complete: both have wine glasses, a tumbler, a flute and smaller glassware. Carre and Experts Collection are cleaner in line and suit a modern table setting better.

Then look at the capacity. The wine glasses run from 20 to 32 cl in the classic series and up to 38 cl in the roomier models. Champagne comes in a flute of 21 or 22 cl and in a coupe of 27 cl. For spirits there is a shot glass of 5 or 6 cl, including the old Dutch roemer that comes in twelves. A tasting glass of 13 cl is meant for small measures at tastings, and a port glass of 14 cl for fortified wine. For beer there is a stemmed glass of 25 or 30 cl from the Beer Specials series, intended for craft beer rather than lager.

The order of an evening can be read off this range. The aperitif calls for the small glass: jenever is poured right to the rim, and for a kopstoot you set the shot glass next to the stemmed beer glass. Amuse glasses of 15 cl are filled with a cold starter rather than with a drink.

With the food the bowls change. Pour wine up to the widest point of the bowl, so that space is left above the wine for the aroma. A cocktail glass of 26 cl is the size for a shaken drink without ice, an espresso martini for instance, and you serve that in a pre-chilled glass. After the meal comes the small work: port and sherry from a 14 cl glass, and cognac from a 25 cl balloon that you warm in your hand so the aroma is released. An Irish coffee, by contrast, goes into a glass with a handle, which holds the heat without burning your fingers.

Many hospitality series are made of tempered glass. It is heat-treated after forming, which makes it cope better with thermal shock and with knocks. The difference you notice is at the rim: a tempered rim chips less quickly when glasses knock against each other in a full washing rack. That is why these glasses last for years in a bar.

All series can go in the dishwasher. If the glass does turn duller over time, it is usually limescale from hard water rather than wear on the glass itself; a cycle with vinegar or a lower detergent setting helps. Stand glasses upright in the rack and do not stack them inside one another, because two glasses that suction together rarely come apart without breaking.

If you are looking specifically for champagne glasses from this house or from another brand, the full range is at the champagne flutes. For the cocktail line with hurricane and pineapple glasses, look at the cocktail glasses. And anyone after the same solid character in French hospitality glass will find it at Arcoroc, where the shapes are cleaner but the purpose stays the same. If you are ordering for a business rather than for home, the overview at the hospitality glasses is the handiest starting point.