Royal Leerdam Experts Collection

Four bowl sizes sounds like a lot, but the logic is simple. The 29 cl glass is for crisp white wine that you want to keep cold, where a small capacity helps because you top up more often. At 34 cl you get more room for riper white wine and rosé.

The 43 and 55 cl bowls are the red wine glasses. The 43 cl glass suits a medium-bodied wine and also fits on a crowded table; the 55 cl glass is meant for wines with firm tannin that need air. Alongside these there are a 27 cl champagne coupe and a 45 cl tumbler for water or soft drinks next to the wine.

With this series the fill level does more than the shape. Do not pour the 55 cl bowl beyond its widest point, so you can swirl without spilling and the wine opens up. The 29 cl glass you fill to well over half instead, because white wine warms up too quickly in a half-empty glass.

The 27 cl coupe is wide and shallow, which makes it suitable for stirred and shaken cocktails without ice. A french 75 comes into its own in it, and for a classic champagne cocktail with a sugar cube at the bottom the wide base is exactly right.

The glasses are made of ordinary soda-lime glass with a thin rim, and that is a deliberate choice: the rim is barely noticeable at the table, while the glass stays affordable to replace if one breaks. They can simply go in the dishwasher.

The weak point is where the stem meets the bowl. So pick the glass up by the stem and never lift it out of a full rack by the bowl.

You will find the other Leerdam series at Royal Leerdam. If you want to compare by shape rather than by brand, the white wine glasses and the red wine glasses are grouped by type. Looking for more choice in the wide, shallow bowl? Then take a look at the champagne coupes. For uncorking, chilling and keeping an opened bottle, everything is gathered under the wine accessories.