La Rochere Versailles

With the wine glasses the difference is big enough to think about. The 20 cl is a small, upright model that suits white wine and an aperitif. The 40 cl has a rounded bowl in which red wine can take up air. For the wider choice, see the red wine glasses.

The rest you choose by function. The 25 cl tumbler is the water glass, the 34 cl long drink glass is taller and narrower for mixed drinks, and the 27.5 cl tea glass has a thicker wall that tolerates heat. The 27 cl bowl is not a drinking glass but is meant for dessert, yoghurt or ice cream.

The relief comes into its own with drinks that have colour. Pour a Bramble into the 25 cl tumbler over crushed ice and let the blackberry liqueur sink slowly through it; the ribs turn that trail of colour into a visible gradient. A Cuba Libre belongs in the 34 cl long drink glass, filled to the top with ice first so the cola does not go watery.

Tea calls for something else. Pour a little warm water into the 27.5 cl tea glass first to warm it through, throw that away and only then pour the tea.

Pressed glass with a relief is strong, but the pattern gives limescale more places to settle. With hard water you will see that after a while as a white haze between the ribs. Rinse aid in the dishwasher largely prevents it.

Once the haze is there, leave the glasses for half an hour in a solution of water and cleaning vinegar and rinse thoroughly afterwards. Scouring pads are unnecessary and will only dull the wall over time.

There is also a Versailles series by Duralex, another French brand working in tempered glass; anyone looking for that is best off clicking through to the tumbler glasses, where the stackable models are. The rest of this house can be found on the brand page for La Rochère. For the bowl and the tea set there is the dessert glasses category, and the tall models for mixed drinks are with the long drink glasses.