Paradox Cristalin Galileo

The capacity of a wine glass says nothing about the measure you pour, but everything about the room the aroma is given. The 47 cl tasting glass is the everyday size: fine for white wine, light reds and a glass at a table that also has plates on it. The 58 cl Bordeaux has a taller bowl and a narrower opening, which helps full-bodied red wine stay concentrated. You reach for the 90 cl magnum when you really want to assess a wine or let it open up in the glass itself. For narrower models look at the white wine glasses and for wider bowls at the red wine glasses.

Never fill a large bowl beyond its widest point. In the magnum that means roughly 15 to 18 cl, so less than a fifth of the capacity. It looks meagre at first, but that is exactly the intention: only with that headroom can you swirl and smell. Serve red wine at around sixteen degrees and white wine cooler, and always pick the glass up by the stem. If you want a fruity summer drink in a generous bowl, the recipe for sangria works well in the tasting glass.

Thinly blown crystalline glass rarely breaks through use and almost always through knocks in the cupboard or the dishwasher basket. Stand the glasses upright with space between them, in the dishwasher too, and choose a short programme at a low temperature. Dry the bowl afterwards with a linen cloth, holding it by the bowl and not by the stem, because that junction is the weak point. Store the glasses upright and the rim will stay undamaged.

The brand's other ranges sit under Paradox Cristalin. If you want to let a young red breathe before it goes into the glass, have a look at the carafes. For smaller sizes in which you taste and compare systematically there are the tasting glasses. And if you would rather serve something mixed, the cocktails section has recipes that come into their own in a generous bowl.