We Tested the Best Red Wine Glasses—Here Are the Results

Best Overall

Gabriel-Glas "One for All" StandArt Edition

5

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Rafa García Febles, beverage manager and sommelier at Le Crocodile in New York, has a tried-and-true mantra for beginners when glassware shopping. “Experiment, explore [and] have fun," he says. “If you're just starting out, you want to make sure you have a glass that lets you appreciate the nuances of a great pour, but don't break the bank on separate $60 crystal glasses for each style of wine." One way to go about this, according to Febles, is to opt for a durable, all-purpose glass that works with a wide variety of wines.

One industry favorite is the Gabriel-Glas “One for All” style. Available in two quality levels, the StandArt Edition and the Gold Edition, Febles recommends trying the former first: “[This glass] will show a lot of different styles near their best, allowing you to explore and develop your palate before committing to more specialized glassware." He explains, “Generally, you want a glass with a wide bowl, thin glass, and a stem: the bowl allows aromas to emerge and gather, thin glass allows the wine to flow easily into your mouth, and a stem prevents your hand from unnecessarily warming the wine or contributing off-aromas from whatever you've been touching.”

After unboxing the glasses, our at-home tester noted that for an approachable price point, these glasses still offer an elevated design—elegant, but appropriate for everyday use. Our tester liked that the stem was nice and thick and didn't feel hyper-delicate like many high-end glasses. The heavier weight and thick stem felt comfortable and secure in the hand. The large, angular bowl also allowed for a thorough swirl. We liked that this glass has the sensibilities of a high-end crystal glass but has more weight to it and makes swirling feel even more enjoyable.

During testing, we appreciated the conical design—making it feel like a larger, blown-up version of a brandy snifter. This shape helped to concentrate the aromas and directed them straight to the nose. Our tester noted that the glass was thin, but not paper-thin like many of the crystal options, and she didn't feel the need to be precious with the glass. Even though the glass is all-purpose, with bigger, more nuanced red, it still performed with precision, highlighting the fruit and concentrating the nose.

Related: The Best Wine Fridges, According to Experts

Best Varietal-Specific

Riedel Veritas Old World Pinot Noir

4.3

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Contrary to popular belief, varietal-specific wine glasses can sometimes work well for wines outside of their intended use. These glasses are designed to showcase fruit-forwardness, temper high acidity, and enhance aromatics—try them with a few different pinot noirs (such as red burgundy or a varietal from California) and a gamay to see how they influence the wine on the nose and palate. The wine bowl specifically showcases bigger-bodied wines—barolos, barbarescos, lagreins, and aglianico. These glasses are made from crystal and are dishwasher-safe and surprisingly durable—they walk a line between daily drinkers and special-occasion crystal well.

“I'm a big fan of the Riedel Veritas Old World Pinot Noir glass that we use at Le Crocodile for burgundies and other aromatic reds," says Febles. "It's gorgeous to look at and beautifully balanced in your hand, and it highlights aromas while preserving the wine's structure.”

Our home tester appreciated that these glasses had a good weight, were well shaped to their varietal, and were not overly precious like many of varietal-specific glasses. Though we noted that these are dishwasher-friendly, the oversized bowl and larger height made them awkward for a dishwasher, and our tester worried about breaking them. The quality seemed apparent during testing—the glass sparkled and offered a bright window into the color of the wine.

Our tester thought the circular shape made for a really pleasant drinking experience, and the thin lip perfectly aided in that. Trying one of her favorite Brouillys from this glass, she thought that it did an excellent job of tempering the acidity while highlighting the high-toned fruit. With a younger spatburgunder, it kept the vibrancy of the fruit while allowing for the more nuanced notes to come out. The tester noted that this certainly isn't a glass for medium- and heavy-bodied wines, but its tulip-shaped bowl adds depth to brighter wines.

Best Stemless

Duralex Picardie Tumbler, 8-3/4-Ounce

4.4

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If you’re looking for a versatile workhorse, Victoria James, sommelier and beverage director at Cote in New York, recommends her go-to stemless glass, the Duralex Picardie Tumbler. According to her, these glasses are durable, reliable, and great for brasserie-style wines, and they won’t break the bank.

“This is my vehicle for a tipple at the end of a long workday,” she says. The tempered, non-porous glass of these tumblers is impact- and chip-resistant, and it’s designed to withstand sudden temperature changes—meaning that if you make an espresso and want it iced, you can stick it in the freezer while hot, and the glass can easily handle it. These space-saving, stackable tumblers are also dishwasher- and microwave-safe.

We put these no-nonsense glasses to the test. Our at-home tester liked that they were stackable, easy-to-clean, and super-durable, with a nice weight to them. Though they're not particularly exciting in design, our tester noted that they look like the same glasses you'd find on bistro tables around France and Spain, and there's an appeal to that.

During testing, we noticed that because of the smaller size, we were able to give a slight swirl to these glasses, but there wasn't enough space to aerate the wine properly. We also noted that the lip and overall thickness of the glass was quite chunky, inhibiting the aromas of the wine. These glasses are for enjoying wines in a casual setting rather than holding a serious tasting.

Related: The Best Wine Openers, According to Experts

Best for Swirling

Schott Zwiesel PURE Burgundy Glass

4.3

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Sur Lucero, an award-winning master sommelier, advocates using varietal-specific stemware flexibly. “You don’t always have to play by the rules when it comes to your wine glass choices,” he says. “For example, I typically enjoy Châteauneuf-du-Pape from a burgundy glass, because it is almost always grenache-based."

For Lucero, a burgundy glass is a cabinet staple, thanks to its versatility. This stemware set by Schott Zwiesel is made from a proprietary break- and chip-resistant crystal and is dishwasher-safe. Furthermore, the glasses can accommodate a variety of wines in addition to burgundy (think sangiovese, chianti, lambrusco, beaujolais, brunello, chardonnay, viognier, and more).

When testing these glasses out, we found them to be elegant and modern but wished they didn't feel so heavy in our hands. The clarity was brilliant—surprising, considering they're Tritan—but the glass was a little thick, and the weight was heavier than we wished

We tested out a few different wines from these, including an inky blaufrankish and a more herbaceous, big-bodied sangiovese, and found that the aromas all played well. The bowl was large enough to really aerate a wine, which we loved. We also really liked that the lip was thin, and the wide bowl allowed aromas to sing.

Our home tester thought these glasses were slightly too tall for the dishwasher. While the Tritan is very durable, and the clarity tends to remain after several washes, the glasses didn't fit well in her standard dishwasher—the bowl was too wide, and the stem too long to pop them in carefully. So, she preferred to hand-wash them, appreciating that the bowls were wide enough that she didn't worry about them.

Related: The Best Wine Glasses, According to Experts

Best Value

Luigi Bormioli Crescendo Bordeaux

4.2

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Lucero recommends Luigi Bormioli's Bordeaux glasses for most of your red wine drinking needs. Glasses within Luigi Bormioli’s SON.hyx collection are crystal clear, resistant to chipping and breaks, and dishwasher-safe, and they come with a 25-year manufacturer’s warranty. They’re also very thin and lightweight, which is important for stemware in general.

Our home-tester noted right away that the lip on this glass rivaled that of a higher-end crystal glass and that the bowl offered ample room to swirl—particularly excellent given the price. We did notice during testing, however, that the clarity diminished significantly after several uses. It got foggy, and took a good amount of polishing to get back to looking sharp.

Even though this is a Bordeaux glass, our tester liked that it was also great for a variety of wines—traditional young and old red Bordeaux, as well as white wines. At-home testing proved that there were also some downsides: the glass didn't hide flaws, and the weight of the stem felt inexpensive. But what it lacked in elegance, it made up for in price, and the glass performed perfectly well with a range of wines.

Use these glasses for any Bordeaux, young or old, as well as any and all of the varietals that go into it (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, among others).

Best Everyday

Riedel VINUM Bordeaux/Merlot/Cabernet Wine Glasses

4.2

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While tall-stemmed, paper-thin glasses are excellent for opening up aromas and allowing a wine to breathe, that’s likely not the glass you’re reaching for when cracking your weeknight bottle of wine. That’s where a universal glass steps in.

“If you are buying a wine glass for the first time, my recommendation is to buy an all-purpose wine glass which is suitable for both casual and formal occasions. The glass can be used for both red and white wines. My favorite glass has to be Riedel,” says Suman Pradhan, the director of outlets and sommelier at Viceroy Snowmass, in Colorado. “They are the world’s leading glassmakers and produce high-quality stemware with specific shapes and designs. Riedel’s designs always complement the different wine grape varieties and regions, whilst adding to the overall enjoyment of a wine.“

Taking Pradhan's advice, we put these all-purpose Riedel glasses to the test. Our at-home tester liked that the bowl was nice and long, taking up the majority of the height. She also liked the unusually shorter stem, noting that it provided a little more stability—especially good for those of us who self identify as a klutz! While the stem is stubbier, the nice elongated, deep bowl keeps the design higher-end.

While testing, we liked the size of the glass—it wasn't overbearing. It showcased aromas well and allowed for plenty of room to swirl, which is crucial for more tannic wines, like what should be served in these glasses. These aren't some those newfangled glasses with flat bottoms or angled curves—they're the same simple, round glasses we grew up drinking from. The slow, sloping bowl fit well in the hand, and the long stem provided stability.

These all-purpose glasses are designed to be perfectly serviceable for every and any wine you’re sipping. There’s still a stem and a bowl large enough for oxidizing a tight red, but this glass will also play home to everything from opulent chenin from the Loire to a juicy beaujolais nouveau to a silky trousseau—they’re every-day glasses that still boast high quality. During testing, we thought these glasses were great for all sorts of wines, but we found that the bowl wasn't quite large enough for bold wines.

Our at-home tester found these glasses to be slightly more fragile than a standard wine glass. Over time, the shape will start to bend and shift from the heat of the dishwasher, so it is recommended to hand-wash these.

Best Splurge

Josephinenhutte Josephine No. 3 Red Wine Glass

4.2

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While these aren’t the most well-known or certainly the most affordable option, there’s an appealing story to these glasses. If you’re a wine nerd, Zalto will be a familiar name. Josepheninenhutte is a new project by the lauded Kurt Zalto, one of the most iconic wine glass artisans in the world. (His family’s glassware dynasty is globally renowned and dates back six generations.)

The glassware prodigy now produces innovative, elegant glasses using Silesian glassware techniques in the Waldviertel region of Austria. The Champagne glass is particularly stellar, though the red wine glasses (both burgundy and Bordeaux) are bar-none if you are a cellar nerd. They’re whisper-thin, made of hand-blown crystal in Austria. His burgundy glass has a wide base, a slight curve, and big curves to amplify more delicate burgundian reds, and the tall glass has a showstopping presence on a table.

After unpacking these glasses at home, our tester discovered just how incredibly light these are, noting that they feel like air in your hand. The stem is long and elegant, the bowl is large and hugs the wine well, and the glass is delicate and thin, though surprisingly durable. They're on the larger size, so they will command a lot of space in your cabinet. In fact, our tester found them to be almost ungainly in size, and perhaps they aren't quite the most practical. But if you're dedicated to unleashing the flavor and aroma profiles of a wine, this glass does so extraordinarily well. The clarity is brilliant, and there is more than enough space to give a thorough, generous swirl.

The lip on this glass is particularly thin. When drinking, it feels as if there were almost nothing between your palate and the wine. Our tester opened a bottle of heavier of bottle of red burgundy and compared the tasting experience between this glass and an entry-level red glass. The Josepheninhutte did an exceptional job of unfolding the the aromas delicately—it was clear how much more developed the wine was in this glass over a standard red glass.