Zwiesel Glas Prizma

The choice starts with the wine. The 56.1 cl bordeaux glass and the 61.3 cl red wine glass both offer the room that full-bodied red wine needs. The bordeaux model is taller and narrower, which keeps tannin a little tighter, while the wider bowl brings out more aroma. Pour both to about a third and let the rest of the bowl be air.

For white wine the 29.6 cl bowl is the right size: small enough to keep the wine cold until the glass is empty. The 28.8 cl champagne glass has an effervescence point in the base, a treated spot that carbon dioxide bubbles cling to so the bead keeps rising. The 37 cl tumbler stands apart from the wine glasses and serves as a water glass.

At a dinner, place the water glass above and to the right of the plate with the wine glasses beside it, in the order in which you will pour. Hold every glass by the stem, the champagne glass included, because sparkling wine loses its chill fastest through your hand.

Pour red wine half an hour before the meal if you want it to open up, and swirling it in the wide bowl speeds that along. The large wine glass is also the right shape for an Aperol spritz, which has to hold ice, prosecco and soda water. For a mimosa use the champagne glass and pour the orange juice in first.

Tritan is the crystal glass from Zwiesel Glas in which titanium and zirconium are taken up in the melt. That makes the glass harder at the rim and more resistant to detergent and the temperature swings of the dishwasher, so it stays clear after hundreds of wash cycles instead of turning dull.

Place the glasses in the rack so the bowls do not touch each other. The same applies to the facets as to all cut glass: rinsing afterwards and going over them with a dry cloth keeps them clean.

The full range from this manufacturer is under glasses from Zwiesel Glas, where the other series are gathered too. If you only need a bowl for red, look at the red wine glasses; for lighter wines the white wine glasses are together in one place. The separate tumbler from this series appears among the water glasses and the model with the effervescence point among the champagne flutes.