Wine glass with a heavy trunk instead of a slender stem?

January 10, 2009 10:28 PM

Where can I buy a fat-stemmed wine glass?

I love these flutes and these martini glasses - is there a similar wine glass out there somewhere?

The closest I've been able to come is these footed coolers, which are neat but not terribly wine-glassy.*

*Bonus question: Would it be too gauche** to serve wine in what appears to be a water goblet / beer glass?

**Bonus bonus question: or is there some legitimate oenophile reason why wine glasses in this style don't exist?

posted by hyperfascinated to food & drink (12 comments total)

How about these flutes and these martini glasses? Unfortunately this collection does not include wine glasses. I'd take a wild stab in the dark and say materials/ manufacturing costs are more likely the reason for their absence.
posted by forallmankind at 10:50 PM on January 10

I have these, along with the matching tumblers and old-fashioneds. (They might be discontinued though.)

I find the heavy foot quite comfortable in comparison to the usual fragile stems of the more typical wine glass. I'm pretty sure they're not optimal for a wine tasting (see Does the Type of Wine Glass Affect the Taste of Wine?) but they are nice to hold and use in an everyday, casual basis with everyday, casual wines.

Personally I find serving wine in a straight-sided glass unappealing. It reduces the surface area of wine exposed to air, which is not good - and unless it's an old-fashioned it will hold some 3-4 standard drinks. So I'd feel like I was looking to get drunk very quickly.
posted by hgws at 10:51 PM on January 10

O-Riedel is the wine glass you seek.

Riedel is pretty much the glass standard in the wine industry, and they started a sleek, sophisticated and stem-less line recently.
posted by seawallrunner at 10:53 PM on January 10

Did you happen to see these Dexter Glasses from C&B? They're quite elegant, but perhaps they are a bit too "stemless" for your taste.

There also appears to be a line called 'Stella" by Iittala Crystal that appears somewhat similar to the glasses you posted, and which retains the shape of a more traditional wine glass (though they certainly lose length in the stem, which appears to be a common characteristic of "stemless" glass styles).
posted by numinous at 10:54 PM on January 10

(Jesus, did I use the word "appears" enough in that last sentence?)

Oooh ooh, these LSA Elina Wine Glasses look promising! (The only caveat is that I have only found them available on UK sites, so their availability stateside is questionable.)
posted by numinous at 11:10 PM on January 10

For casual home use, I like the iittala verna. You might also like the iittala tapio which comes in a range of sizes and styles for different drinks.

Ikea does a similar style to the verna, but given that you are already moving from delicate wine glass to more sturdy glass, I don't like them as then you also take a step towards cheaper material and make.

Not sure who stocks iittala in the US, but I think there are plenty available online if you are happy to buy sight unseen.
posted by AnnaRat at 12:51 AM on January 11

Crate and Barrel used to have some glasses that were extremely similar to the footed coolers you mentioned -- they had different names, but I got short, fat, wine, martini, and margarita glasses with the exact same base. Now they seem to be gone. I wish we could petition to get them back somehow.
posted by theredpen at 5:21 AM on January 11

We have several of the Ikea glasses that AnnaRat linked to, and we use them for water, juice, wine, soda, serving desserts, etc. They are not fine, fine quality, but they are sturdy as hell and quite versatile.
posted by ersatzkat at 5:26 AM on January 11

Crate and Barrel used to have some glasses that were extremely similar to the footed coolers you mentioned -- they had different names, but I got short, fat, wine, martini, and margarita glasses with the exact same base. Now they seem to be gone. I wish we could petition to get them back somehow.

Ack I have these same wine glasses and didn't realize they were gone! Perhaps they just don't have them on the website? It might be worth a trip to c&b if there's one near you to look for them.
posted by ch1x0r at 8:58 AM on January 11

Ack I have these same wine glasses and didn't realize they were gone! Perhaps they just don't have them on the website? It might be worth a trip to c&b if there's one near you to look for them.

hyperfascinated & ch1x0r -- they still have the margarita version, if you're interested. But I am annoyed about the others -- I finally trashed my old mismatched sets and bought a few of each, hoping to get more later. Argh. I'll try a C&B store but have little hope.
posted by theredpen at 9:56 AM on January 11

These may be less sleek and more bohemian than your tastes, but I just bought a set of Helianthus Goblets in clear glass and I use them for everything now, including wine. They're way prettier in person and not nearly as fragile as stemware.
posted by mochapickle at 1:36 PM on January 11

It's not exactly like your examples, but have you seen the wine glasses available in the "Caterer's Set" from Pottery Barn?

We actually picked our up in store for like $24.00 (big sale), and we LOVE them! They have a good solid heft and mass, but they're not at all bulky or awkward. We find them especially nice for deeper reds, which we like a lot. And they were CHEAP!! Check them out. I'm sure you can get a good deal on them right now, too.

Cheers!
posted by deejay jaydee at 9:07 AM on January 12