The short answer
Our recommendation for everyday use: one good medium-sized universal glass with a bowl that narrows towards the rim. Such a glass can be used for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling as well as for rosé, light red wine and sparkling wine.
Variety-specific glasses are an option for enthusiasts, not a must. Glass shape does measurably change what gathers in the glass above the wine. In the blind tastings we found, however, the differences turned out small.
What glass shape actually changes
Measurements clearly show that the shape of the glass affects the composition of aroma compounds above the wine. Researchers in Tokyo used a special camera to show that in a wine glass at 13 degrees a ring of ethanol vapour forms near the rim, but not in a straight glass. That measures vapour, though, not what a person smells.
In tastings the picture is less clear. In a study with 181 people, glass shape influenced how the aroma was rated, regardless of how attractive the glasses looked. In a blind study with blindfolded tasters, differences in aroma intensity were at most one point on a ten-point scale, and they depended mainly on how much the glass narrows towards the opening. Another blind study found no significant difference for most attributes between an expensive and a simple glass.
A WSET piece sums it up: differences usually appear when participants can see the glasses, which points to a psychological element. A review paper notes that measurable chemical differences are not automatically perceptible.
There is no tongue map
You often read that a particular glass directs the wine to the tip of the tongue and so emphasises sweetness or acidity. This explanation rests on the idea of a tongue map with fixed zones for individual tastes. Research has disproved that map, and a review paper notes that hardly any evidence is offered for the flow theory.
What remains is aroma: a bowl wider than its opening gathers aromas better than an open, straight glass.
Universal glass or variety-specific glass?
Manufacturers such as Riedel claim that a glass shape matched to the grape variety emphasises aroma and flavour. These are manufacturer claims. The blind studies described above point rather to small differences.
Wine writer Jancis Robinson deliberately designed a single glass for all three wine colours, partly because many people lack space for several types of glass and because it had to be dishwasher-friendly. We share that reasoning: one set of good universal glasses covers everyday use. If you enjoy comparing glasses, you can still add a variety-specific one.
Size and how full to pour
Wine Spectator recommends filling a glass to about a third, whatever its shape, so that space remains above the wine for the aroma compounds.
A glass should therefore be large enough that a normal serving fills only about a third of it. Interesting in passing: a Cambridge study found that bars using larger glasses sold more wine with the same serving size.
Crystal glass, lead crystal or simple glass?
Lead crystal releases lead into drinks, especially during long storage. In one study the lead content of port in crystal decanters rose sharply after four months, and white wine leached small amounts of lead from crystal glasses within minutes. Health Canada advises using lead crystal only occasionally for serving, never for storage, choosing lead-free tableware for children and pregnant people, and washing lead crystal by hand.
For everyday use, lead-free crystal glass or good simple glass is the more sensible choice.
Glasses and the dishwasher
Stiftung Warentest put glasses through 500 dishwasher cycles. Crystal glasses often came through undamaged, while simple glass soon looked old. Soft water attacks glass more strongly, and the glasses should not touch each other in the machine. Once glass has become cloudy from corrosion it cannot be restored. The test is older, but the basic rules still apply.
Research at Lehigh University also showed that certain ingredients in dishwasher detergents widen fine cracks in glass, while milder detergents without them did not.
Stemmed or stemless?
It is often said that stemless glasses warm the wine quickly through your hand. We found no controlled study on this. If you cup the bowl you warm the wine with any glass; if you hold the stem, less so.
It is best to check stability, cupboard clearance and handling for the particular glass. In the end it is a matter of preference.
What matters when buying
Shape: a bowl wider than the opening, i.e. a tulip or egg shape. A thin rim is pleasant but more a matter of preference than evidence.
Size: large enough that a normal serving fills only about a third of the glass.
Material: lead-free crystal glass or good simple glass for everyday use, lead crystal at most occasionally.
Everyday practicality: dishwasher-safe according to the manufacturer, suited to your cupboard height and replaceable individually, because breakage happens.
When you do not need new glasses
If you already have medium-sized glasses that narrow towards the top, you need nothing new for white wine. Nor is a flute necessary for sparkling wine: in a WSET study, aroma from the flute was rated weaker than from a white wine glass.
For a picnic, any clean glass or an unbreakable cup will do. Broken drinking glasses, by the way, do not belong in glass recycling but in residual waste.
Sources and review status
Research as of 30 October 2026. We have not systematically tested any glasses. Statements by manufacturers such as Riedel are labelled as manufacturer claims in the text.
The studies cited are mostly small and used different methods. We were unable to check a recommendation from Austrian Wine on white wine glasses.