What makes a good wine glass? A lot of wine experts would say that a good wine glass boosts the pleasure of consuming the wine in it. For example, red wine glasses are rounder and wider so the wine can oxidize more where the slimness of a champagne flute retains carbonation. Enjoying a wine at its full potential is important and the right glass does make a difference.

Yet this doesn’t mean that we should stick to the traditional wine glass. As long as form follows function, a well designed glass will definitely enhance your experience.

Here are some original wine glasses worth looking at and drinking from:

-Stemless wine and champagne glasses have been popular recently. These glasses by Malfatti Glassware are practical and unassumingly pretty.

-These glasses produced by Iitala, are original designs from Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala. His designs are inspired by Lapland’s melting ice. The designer spent thousands of hours perfecting the glass blowing technique required to produce the effect.

-This one glass for four beverages is an idea yet to be realized. The French design firm Utopik design created a concept where a glass is slightly changed by adding a bottom and/or stem to it, turning it into a water, cognac, wine or champagne glass.

–SUPERDUPERSTUDIO, an American design studio, created the Saturn wine glass. It’s a stemless glass that doesn’t only look stylish but is also designed to prevent spills. If you accidentally knock over the glass it falls on its side and rolls around keeping the wine inside.

–This glass is a tad more traditional than the previous example. The basic design of the glass is the same as your everyday wine glass yet the rippled texture gives it a subtle extra touch creating something that looks altogether quite different.

[Article by Alexander Eeckhout]