Royal Leerdam Esprit

Work through the sizes based on what is missing from your cupboard. The 25 cl is a small glass for white wine and for an aperitif you would rather not serve in something large. The 32 cl is the most widely used size for white and rosé wine. The 41 cl is the all-rounder that lets you pour both white and light red. The 53 cl is the largest bowl in the range and is meant for red wine with robust aromas, filled to about a third so there is plenty of air above it. The 21 cl flute is the only size for sparkling wine.

Always hold a glass by the stem, even when it is full. With the 53 cl you notice why straight away: pick it up by the bowl and the wine warms up within a few minutes. Serve rosé and white wine at around eight degrees, red at around sixteen. The flute is the place for a Bellini of peach and prosecco, or for a French 75 with gin and lemon, both without ice and served right after mixing.

The glasses are dishwasher safe and were designed for it, but the stem remains the point where things go wrong. Place them upright in a glass rack rather than at an angle between the plates. Never twist a glass forcefully inside a tea towel, because that is how the stem snaps off at the bowl. Wrap the cloth around it and polish without wringing.

For the full picture of what suits this range, take a look at the wine glasses and compare them by capacity. For the large bowls there are red wine glasses and for the smaller sizes white wine glasses. All sparkling models are gathered under champagne flutes. The rest of the brand, from classic to modern, can be found under Royal Leerdam.