8 Of The Best Wine Glasses For Oenophiles

In recent years, there has been a deluge of clickbait (often from the sort of person who appears entirely ambivalent about whether their wine comes in a paper box versus a glass bottle) that – to save everybody time – basically declares the stemware we all buy has little to no impact on the quality of your wine drinking experience.

That, as impassioned oenophiles will tell you, is utter tripe.

Undoubtedly: I wouldn’t be so bold as to assert that expensive glassware has a transformative effect on mediocre winemaking; yet the style and tactility of a high-quality wine glass do accentuate the pleasure of drinking something that was, at the outset, well-made. As for a great drop – think your millésimé Champagnes or ’16 Barbaresco – wine glasses equal to the task of showcasing each style’s unique personality (in the best possible light, I might add) are nothing short of essential.

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Enter our latest ‘Buyer’s Guide’: this time focused on eight of the best wine glasses you can buy right now, all of them BH approved. Whereas the vast majority are what wine writers would call ‘universal glasses’ – perfect for domestic settings where drinkers have neither the time, cash, nor square footage to buy dozens of varietal-specific glasses – we’ve made it a point to include one or two sets that work a treat for specific situations: think stemless wine glasses, white wine glasses, red wine glasses and beyond.

Obviously, there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to the joy of quaffing; so without further ado – read on to find the stemware that best suits your needs below.

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BH Approved: What’s The Best Wine Glass You Can Buy In Australia Right Now?

Before getting into our full spread of options, I have to talk about this particular ‘Standard’ glass crafted by Gabriel-Glas (pictured above). Far and away the best wine glass on the market right now (and multiple previous years for that matter) it’s shocking to me how this retails for an individual price of around $30.

With an ability to carry the kind of flavour and aromatics you’d expect out of a glass pitched at three times the price, wine critic Madeline Puckette has even gone on record as saying that Gabriel-Glas makes a product “equal to Zalto”, with an added emphasis on keeping what you’ve poured fresher for longer.

Made with everyday use in mind, the Standard even utilises machine-blown construction to its advantage; giving drinkers a near-perfect wine glass, regardless of whatever grape variety you’re enjoying. For so effortlessly walking a tightrope between heft, durability and sheer drinking pleasure, this is unequivocally our favourite wine glass set right now.

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The Best Wine Glasses In Australia

Zalto Denk’Art Universal

• Hand-blown in Lower Austria
• Lead oxide free
• Dishwasher safe
• Height: 23.6cm
• Width: 9.1cm
• Capacity: 530ml

The Rolls-Royce Ghost of universal wine glasses, this Zalto Denk’Art is a favourite of vinous veterans (particularly the Master Sommelier set) around the globe. Pricey and fragile, they invariably justify the hype surrounding the Zalto name the moment you hold one by the stem.

Each is hand-blown with fine crystal, in a historic Austrian factory near the border of Czechoslovakia (both countries share a long history of artisanal glassware manufacturing), and – even juxtaposed against other similarly expensive glasses – the Zalto Universal remains the gold standard when judging weight-to-strength.

Almost frighteningly lightweight, the unrivalled ability of a Zalto glass to convey the essence of any drop is why wine lovers can’t get enough of them. In terms of colour, clarity and expression, pretty much any variety you can think of (from brash Cabernet Sauvignon to citrus-laden Pinot Grigio) benefits from time in-vessel – with the only, admittedly valid, downside being the price.

On a personal note: I actually even prefer to use these as Champagne glasses instead of the customary (and practically inferior) flute glasses.

Stolzle ‘Power’ Red Wine Glass

• Lead-free crystal
• Flat bowl design
• Dishwasher safe
• Height: 22.6cm
• Width: 9.3cm
• Capacity: 520ml

In deference to its name, Stolzle’s ‘Power’ glass is one of our favourite options when drinking a variety of richer, tannic red wines in the vein of Barossa Valley Shiraz or old-school Barolo (so pretty much the antithesis of a Burgundy wine glass then). While this particular glass design isn’t hand-blown using a single-piece construction, it is machined from high-quality lead-free crystal (just so, for every BH-approved entry on our list).

The angular flat bowl style works best for focusing the aromas of bold red grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

Spiegelau Definition Universal Glass

• Lead-free crystal
• Machine made
• Evolution of the 2011 ‘Hybrid’ collection
• Height: 23.7cm
• Width: 22cm
• Capacity: 550ml

A nice middle ground between the excessiveness of Zalto and the mundanity of mass-manufactured crystal, the Spiegelau ‘Definitionl’ features a classic high-walled bowl and fine stem that help to enhance the fruit profile of whatever wine you’re drinking (though inveterate red wine drinkers might be better served to select a style with a wider lip and bigger surface area for maximum aeration). 

Built on glass-making wisdom accrued from two of Spiegelau’s best-selling predecessor ranges (launched respectively in 1982 and 2011) there’s an argument to be made that the Definition is as close as any brand has come to simulating the weight and tactile sensation of ultra-premium hand-blown wine glasses, using a machine-made product. Don’t believe us? Grab these bad boys by the stem, give them a light swirling and see for yourself.

Schott Zwiesel Vina Universal

• Made in Germany
• Dishwasher Safe
• Crystal made with TRITAN technology
• Height: 14.5cm
• Width: 8.8cm
• Capacity: 548ml

At under $8 per glass, the Schott Zwiesel Vina isn’t exactly what you’d call prestige stemware. That being said, it’s the only design to crack our list of best wine glasses that is well…more or less uncrackable. 

Utilising lead-free crystal that has been treated with Schott’s internationally recognised Tritan patent, these Vina stemless glasses demonstrate an incredible resistance to chipping, discolouration and the scourge of fogging (a phenomenon that occurs when fine glassware is put through a harsh dishwashing cycle). 

The stemless bowl with a reinforced base means these can even take warm liquids and spirits as well as your average glass of Catarato – turning the humble machine-made Vina into an MVP for those who need to prioritise storage and multi-tasking ability.

Riedel Vinum Pinot Noir

• Made in Austria
• Lead-free crystal
• Balloon-shape design
• Height: 21cm
• Width: 10.8cm
• Capacity: 700ml

Another one of the few varietal-specific styles to make it into our shortlist of wine glasses worth buying this year; as you’d expect, the Vinum Pinot Noir is a crack vessel for enjoying light to medium-bodied wines with high acidity and soft tannins.

The latest generation of Riedel’s long-running and highly popular ‘Vinum’ series (first launched in 1986) these stemmed glasses, with their thin lip and classic balloon shape help to capture the complex aromas of winemaking’s most notoriously temperamental grape.

In a pinch, if you’re itching to try your hand at some new cocktail recipes, we wager these also wouldn’t make bad drinking vessels for a Spritz or G&T.

Plumm No. 1

• Lead-free crystal
• Dishwasher safe
• Developed in conjunction with Aussie sommeliers
• Height: 23cm
• Width: 12cm
• Capacity: 610ml

A regular sight at award-winning bars & restaurants around Australia, Melbourne label Plumm’s No. 1 glass lives up to its lofty moniker – having been made with input and practical feedback from many a savvy wine director.

Made in Slovakia using lead-free European crystal, the No. 1 obviates the need to keep different glasses at home: as they’re great at enhancing a variety of styles of white wines, bubbly, red wine and – as I found out recently – even stickies.

Even though the construction doesn’t utilise a single, seamless piece of crystal glass – in contrast to options like the Mark Thomas – its ‘pulled’ stem is extremely durable, making this a good option for occasions when you want to do a fancy table setting at home (albeit for a mixed bag of guests who you wouldn’t trust with your $80 Zaltos).

Mark Thomas No. 2110 Allround

• Innovative ‘double bend’ design
• Lead-free crystal
• Mouth-blown in Austria
• Height: 22cm
• Width: 9cm
• Capacity: 500ml

Whether you love sparkling wines or classic, fruit-forward varietals like Sauvignon Blanc, Mark Thomas’s unique No. 2110 ‘Allround’ crystal glasses are among the best I’ve personally encountered in some time.

Hailed as a fusion between the austere, refined Zalto and classic, curvy Riedel glass, the Allround’s killer feature is a unique ‘double-bend’ – the first in a now-burgeoning category that is every Master Sommelier and wine pedant’s favourite low-key flex.

As your vino of choice travels down the characteristic twice-bent sidewall of the Allround, it achieves greater aeration at a rapid pace – helping to unfurl all the aromatic complexity from younger vintages, or indeed, styles of winemaking naturally higher in alcohol with a balance of bold flavours.

And yes: at nearly $60 a glass, you’d better believe these are hand-blown from fine, lead-free crystal in the heart of Austria.