A glassware wardrobe

The styles and shapes to have in your cupboard for all drinking needs

Oct 23, 2024

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of The Bell!

When I sent out my reader survey a couple of months back, one of you requested that I write about glassware. There wasn’t much more detail in the request, so I interpreted it to mean listing out the styles of glassware that one ought to have in the cupboard to cover the types of beverages you might want to drink/serve at home.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing today!

Like many things, building a glassware wardrobe is all about how you live and what you prioritize. If you’re super into wine, get more variety there. If you entertain large groups, you’ll want sets of 12, while for someone like me in a city apartment, sets of 8 are plenty. (Unless you’re blessed with vast empty cupboards to fill, I recommend renting glassware for any party larger than 12 people!)

My personal approach has been to cover a lot of bases, wanting to be comfortable serving wine, beer, cocktails, and non-alcoholic drinks in our daily home life and at a range of casual to elegant hosting occasions. My own inventory is more broad than deep; I have sets of 4 or 6 in certain styles, never exceeding 10.

Water and juice glasses, casual

My parents have used the French-made Duralex ‘Picardie’ glasses forever, and both my brother and I inherited the brand loyalty in our households. These are the glasses you probably associate with low-key café or brasserie dining, where the server brings you a carafe of water and a short, sturdy glass.

I have three sizes, 4 of each:

12.5 oz, which we normally use for bedside/non-meal water.

8.75 oz, which we normally use for water at dinner, with a carafe on the table, café style. We don’t drink a lot of juice tbh, but use this size when we do.

3.25 oz, which we normally use for a quick sip of water or for espresso.

I love the Picardie line because it’s timeless, durable, and inexpensive. But if you want a less utilitarian set that can bridge the gap between casual and elegant, I like these fluted glasses and these delicate, minimalist ones.

Water and juice glasses, elegant

If you have the space and desire for separate sets, crystal stem goblets are the way to go for water at your elegant tables and dressy parties. Nothing clinks like crystal when making a toast!

I have the William Yeoward Claire Goblet, 4 water and 4 wine. It’s absolutely beautiful and matches any table setting, but my only nitpick is that the water goblet is barely larger than the wine, making them hard to differentiate on the dinner table. If I had to do it over, I might get complementary but different patterns for water and wine goblets.

My vintage crystal cocktail glasses - currently serving a Last Word

Collecting tip: New crystal is expensive, but used and vintage crystal is widely available. I once bought a set of four crystal cocktail glasses at an antique store with the manufacturer’s sticker still on them, for about $8. They remain some of our favorites to use. Keep an eye on eBay, Etsy, in-person estate sales, and online estate auctions. You’ll often find a huge set that the seller is basically giving away. For example, here’s a set of 28 Waterford glasses where the current bid is literally $2.

Wine glasses

Red wine

We chose to go the classic, straightforward route here with a set of 10 Riedel Vinum Cabernet glasses, a versatile style that we use for red wine, spritzes, and even smoothies.

A red wine glass is also nice for juice, juice-based cocktails, and NA cocktails at brunches and such. There’s something so luxurious about drinking freshly squeezed orange juice on the rocks in a wine glass. Just make sure you have enough if you’re serving wine later so you don’t have to do the dishes mid-party!

White wine

Also keeping it classic, we have the Riedel Vinum Chardonnay glasses. We drink more white wine than red around here, so these are in steady rotation.

Sparkling wine

Flutes or coupes, that is the question! I actually have both. These are some of my favorite glassware shapes.

We have a set of 8 Riedel Veritas Coupes which haven’t gotten much use actually. That’s because my flutes are crystal, and when having a Champagne toast, I naturally reach for the crystal glassware first. I have 2 William Yeoward Claire, and 2 William Yeoward Fern. Typically we’re sharing a bottle of bubbly amongst four people, so the coupes aren’t called into service. The Riedel coupes are also quite large, on a long stem. If doing it over, I would opt for coupes in a more vintage style and scale.

Collecting tip: When I was making my wedding registry, someone suggested I collect flutes in different patterns, two at a time, throughout my marriage. I’m following this advice, though the collection is only four deep so far. I keep my eyes out at flea markets and antique stores for sets of two that I love.

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Pint glasses

We don’t have any pint glasses! If we had a casual family room, home bar, game room, etc. I would definitely invest in a set; they’re so classic and masculine. But we pour all beers into one of the two following shapes.

Pilsner glasses

I just like the elegance of a Pilsner with a thinner glass than a pint glass, what can I say? My home is a little more formal, so I like my beer glasses to be a bit dressed up as well. We have a set of 6 of the Crate & Barrel Direction Pilsner Beer Glass.

Belgian beer glasses

And because we both love Belgian beers, we have a set of 4 of the Willow Park Chrissy Essential Belgian Beer Glass (discontinued; similar here) because one must drink Belgian beer out of a stem glass! I also love using brewery glasses for Belgian beer; one of the few times a logo is allowed into my home.

Cocktail glasses

Martini glasses

Like Picardie glasses, a preference for small-scale martini glasses (6 oz ideally) runs in my family. This looks like a nice option. But because they’re hard to find, we tend to drink martinis out of Nick & Noras; see below. (The reason for this is that most martini glasses are top-heavy and slosh—and that volume of a very stiff drink is just too much.)

My husband and I did buy a beautiful set of 2 etched crystal martini glasses on our honeymoon, which are Austrian-made and 7 oz, as opposed to the standard 8.

Highball glasses

There are so many pretty highball glasses on the market; this is a size I would love to collect if I had more cupboard space. I have 6 classic Zweisel Paris Collins glasses to fill this category, and I often use them for water when entertaining.

Double Old Fashioned glasses

Another size that’s so much fun and easy to collect. We have 4 Waterford Lismore glasses in this style, which of course come in handy for an Old Fashioned or other cocktail served on the rocks, but I also really enjoy them for a glass of ice water—the cubes tinkle so beautifully against the crystal.

Nick & Nora glasses

I love this glass. It’s my husband’s favorite shape to use for a martini, and it’s perfect for a lot of cocktails served up, like a Negroni or a Boulevardier. We have 6 from Riedel.

Sherry glasses

This is one missing from my wardrobe, but I’d like to add a set because my brother is getting us into sherry and we can also use them for sipping an amaro after dinner, which we love. Eyeing these; the shape is perfect.

That’s what I’d consider a glassware wardrobe that will cover just about any drink you want to enjoy. Did I leave anything out? Let me know!

I’d also love to hear your favorite glassware shape.