Best Red Wine Glasses: Bordeaux and Burgundy Shapes

Pure is Zwiesel's modern line, recognizable by the angular shoulder where the bowl meets its upright sides. The Bordeaux holds about 23 ounces and stands 10.5 inches tall, which is a real Bordeaux size, and the rim tapers in to hold the aroma of a Cabernet or a Merlot.

The glass is Zwiesel's Tritan crystal, a lead-free glass made in Germany with titanium and zirconium in place of lead. The practical result is a glass that goes through the dishwasher for years without clouding and does not chip at the rim as easily as ordinary glass.

Skip it if you want a traditional round bowl; the angled profile is a matter of taste. The matching Pure Burgundy is sold the same way and at the same price if you drink more Pinot Noir.

The catch. At 10.5 inches it will not fit on the top rack of some dishwashers or in a low cabinet.

Vervino is Zwiesel's thin-walled line, with a fine stem and a wide base. The Burgundy glass is the classic balloon: about 32 ounces, 9.3 inches tall and 4.7 inches across at the widest point, with a rim that pulls in sharply. It is the shape to show off a Pinot Noir or a Nebbiolo, whose aromas are more of the pleasure than the taste.

It is made in Germany in Tritan crystal glass, and Zwiesel rates it for commercial as well as home dishwashers. That combination of a big, thin bowl and a dishwasher-safe glass is the reason to choose it over handmade Burgundy glasses at four times the price.

A 32 ounce bowl is a lot of glass for a small table. Pour about 5 ounces; the empty space above the wine is where the aroma collects, so do not fill it further.

The catch. The wide bowls take up a lot of cabinet and dishwasher space; four of them fill a top rack.

Forté is the sturdy line in the Schott Zwiesel range, made for heavy use. The Burgundy goblet is a rounded bowl of about 25 ounces on a shorter stem, 8.7 inches tall, so it is steadier on a crowded table and easier to fit in a cabinet than the tall glasses above.

It is the right choice when you need a dozen red glasses for a holiday dinner and do not want to wince every time one is set down. It is still Tritan crystal glass from Germany and dishwasher safe.

Skip it if you want the finest rim you can buy. It is thicker at the lip than the Vervino, and you will notice it on a good bottle.

The catch. A heavier rim and stem than the finer glasses here; it is a workhorse, and it feels like one.

Superleggero means super light, and Riedel describes the collection as the largest, thinnest and lightest glasses with the widest base it has produced by machine. The Burgundy Grand Cru holds about 36 ounces and stands about 10.9 inches, with an egg-shaped bowl that Riedel matches to Burgundy, Pinot Noir, Beaujolais and Nebbiolo.

In the hand it is closer to handmade stemware than anything else here, and it costs about as much. It comes one to a box, which is the right way to buy a glass like this: two for the good bottles, not twelve for a party.

Riedel lists it as dishwasher safe, but a glass this thin is safest washed by hand, held by the bowl, never twisted between bowl and foot. Skip it if the good bottles in your house are rare.

The catch. About $75 for one glass, and thin enough that one careless twist while drying ends it.