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Who needs the stem anyway? Super Flint Custom Logo Square Spirit Liquor Glass Bottle
The Spruce Eats / Kate Dingwall
It only takes a few broken stems before any wine lover is stocking up on stemless wine glasses. Easier to hold and durable enough for everyday use, stemless glasses usually don’t require the delicate care of their stemmed counterparts. And they come in a variety of shapes and styles for all your wine-sipping needs.
To help you find the perfect stemless set for you, we tested dozens of models in real-world scenarios at home. There was plenty of toasting, a few corks popped, and one unfortunate shattered glass.
Technically made for red wine
If you’re searching for one glass to drink all the wine, Riedel's cabernet/merlot glass is, despite its name, essentially a one-size-fits-all option. In testing, we appreciated the versatility of these glasses. Pour a splash of bubbly, sip a rich Rioja, or serve up a rosé—the glass will hold its own in every situation. The oval shape and thin lip create the ideal environment for any wine. The Riedel O glass isn't oversized for small hands, but its 21-ounce capacity gives you plenty of space for swirling, and the wide mouth lets you get your whole nose inside to take in the aromas.
Riedel produces these with lead-free, and they're machine-made for consistency. They're sturdier than the brand's stemmed versions, too, making them great for everyday use. Plus, they can go in the dishwasher. If you're only going to have one set of wine glasses, make it these. You can buy them in packages of one, two, four, or eight at a time.
Capacity: 21.2 ounces | Dimensions: 3.7 x 3.7 x 4.8 inches | Material: machine-made crystal
The Spruce Eats/ Kate Dingwall
Can be used where glass is banned
Contoured base and thumb notch
Can warp in the dishwasher
Not ideal for red wine
If you’re looking for maximum durability from your stemless wine glass, look no further. Govino’s offerings look great, are virtually shatterproof, and can be reused again and again. The design is particularly clever—a contoured shape and small dent in the side of the glass let your thumb sit comfortably and makes it easier to hold the glass. Plus, for the wine nerds who don’t want to forgo quality, the extra-strong BPA-free Tritan plastic material has the appeal of real crystal with a brilliant, clear, reflective finish.
During testing, we found these were excellent for lo-fi drinking situations, especially where glass isn't allowed. Think going for a nature walk, sipping in a hot tub, laying on the beach, or any table where the wine is flowing freely and guests might get a little...clumsy. We did find that these glasses are generally better for lighter whites than intense reds: The narrow width doesn't let a complex, tannic wine aerate as much as needed to fully open up its flavors.
The plastic material is very sturdy, but you'll probably want to hand-wash these glasses, as the high temperatures of some dishwashers can cause them to warp. And as with any plastic glassware, these should be rinsed right after use to keep staining residue from building up.
Capacity: 16 ounces | Dimensions: 3 x 3 x 4 inches | Material: Tritan plastic
The Spruce Eats / Kate Dingwall
If you go out to a wine bar in Spain, you're likely to get your pour in a short, wide, flat-bottomed bodega glass like this one. Bormioli Rocco's version has a casual look but high-quality construction, and we loved these during testing. They're practical for small pours of wine as well as beer, espresso, some whiskey on the rocks, or just as everyday water glasses.
Measuring just over 2 inches tall, these tiny glasses still hold 7.5 ounces—enough for a standard 5-ounce wine pour, though there's not a lot of swirling room. The material is heavy-duty, surviving being knocked over and even dropped in testing. That means they're completely dishwasher-safe, and the shape makes them stackable for storage.
Capacity: 7.5 ounces | Dimensions: 3.3 x 3.3 x 2.3 inches | Material: tempered glass
The Spruce Eats / Kate Dingwall
Doesn't work well with white or sparkling wine
Wide circumference might be hard to hold
The complexity of a red wine’s tannins, acidity, and bouquet calls for larger glasses. Where Riedel's cabernet/merlot glass above has a more narrow, multipurpose form, this one's wide, balloon-shaped bowl is specially designed for aeration. It has lots of surface area where an intense red can lightly oxidize to intensify its earthy red-fruit aromas. The downside is that these are not great for most white or sparkling wines, which can lose their freshness and bubbles in an extra-wide glass. The large circumference and lack of a stem could also make them tough for someone with small hands to hold onto.
We found that out of all the stemless wine glasses we tested, this one offered the most elevated drinking experience, similar to what you’d find with big Burgundy-style stemware. (They're particularly excellent when sipping a big glass of Chantereves Bourgogne Pinot Noir by a fire.) Each one can hold up to 24 ounces, is sturdy enough for daily use, and can be cleaned in the dishwasher.
Capacity: 24 ounces | Dimensions: 4.3 x 4.3 x 4.3 inches | Material: machine-made crystal
The Spruce Eats / Kate Dingwall
Not good for intense reds
Glasvin's stemless glass features a very thin rim that feels fancy to sip from, along with a sturdy base that keeps it balanced in your hand and firmly in place on the table. It's advertised as a universal glass, but its height and fairly narrow opening make it best for white wines or anything else you'd serve chilled—chardonnay and pinot grigio are obvious choices, but we also liked these with a young pinot noir. It's just not the best glass for a big, spicy red like a Bordeaux or Cabernet, as there's not as much room for wine and air to swirl around together as in a traditional red wine glass.
In testing, we didn't break any of these, but the rims definitely feel delicate and we dedicated extra care while drinking and washing. (They're dishwasher-safe, though we hand-washed some, too.) Glasvin's glasses are also quite expensive, which is something you'd expect given their hand-blown crystal construction.
Capacity: 16.9 ounces | Dimensions: 3.5 x 3.5 x 4.5 inches | Material: hand-blown crystal
Lively bubbles are exciting for every celebration—from weddings to New Year's Eve to simply making it through another week—and Eparé’s stemless version of the classic Champagne flute deserves a place in any wine lover’s collection. This 6.5-inch-tall flute, which holds 5 ounces of wine, is made from hand-blown borosilicate glass that’s resistant to both scratches and shattering and is even dishwasher-safe.
The design of this glass, though, is a bit unusual: A double layer of glass separates your hand from the contents, which both keeps the wine cool and prevents condensation on the outside of the glass. We noticed during testing that it's far more elegant than most clunky insulated models, making it a smart option for drinking bubbly at a fancy outdoor event. The flute is quite durable, but we don't love that the multiple layers of glass make for a thick rim that's harder to drink from.
Capacity: 5 ounces | Dimensions: 2.5 x 2.5 x 6.3 inches | Material: hand-blown borosilicate glass
The Spruce Eats / Kate Dingwall
No, these unusually shaped glasses are not about to tip over—we promise. The pointed base is balanced perfectly to let the glass rotate in a circle without spilling or rolling away. This does serve a practical purpose in that the spinning motion helps aerate wine, but it's mostly a novelty if we're being honest.
Despite their reasonable price (and weird shape), Viski's rolling glasses are made from high-quality lead-free crystal and would make a fun gift for any wine-lover. We did run into an issue with storage after testing: If you don't want to put them delicate-rim-down in the cabinet, we'd advise keeping the cardboard insert that they're shipped in, which is shaped to hold the rolling bottom still.
Capacity: 12 ounces | Dimensions: 3.5 x 3.5 x 5 inches | Material: crystal
You can't go wrong with the versatile Riedel O Wine Tumbler Cabernet/Merlot Wine Glass, which is good for almost any wine despite its name. Need a budget option for an outdoor picnic? Opt for the Govino Go-Anywhere Wine Glasses.
The roundup above is based on two separate sets of home testing by our expert editors and writers, which included a total of 26 different stemless wine glasses. We spent weeks using the glasses in our everyday routines, then rated each item on ease of use, design, design, shape, ease of cleaning, and overall value.
Like their stemmed cousins, stemless wine glasses come in a wide variety of styles, which are optimized for different types of wine. A tall and narrow Champagne flute, for example, keeps sparkling wine from going flat as quickly, so you can enjoy its lively bubbles for longer. A glass for a full-bodied red, on the other hand, has a bulbous, wide bowl that ensures plenty of air contact to soften tannins and intensify fruit flavors. If you want a more universal glass to use with all sorts of wines, go for something in the middle.
Capacity matters, too. A larger glass gives you more room to swirl and aerate a red—and might also make it less likely to spill. Small glasses can be great for convivial parties with friends pouring across the table, but they're also useful for things other than wine, such as coffee, water, or juice.
The Spruce Eats / Kate Dingwall
Some form of glass or plastic is the most common material for a stemless wine glass, just as it is for any wine glass. Fine crystal glass is the most expensive material, and it has the sparkliest look, but crystal can also be quite fragile and often has to be hand-washed. There are many other types of glass, which vary widely in composition, strength, and cost. A glass made of plastic is of course more durable (not to mention less expensive) than almost any kind of glass and can be taken to outdoor locations where glass isn't allowed, but it doesn't have the same clarity as the real thing. Plastic glasses also tend to have a thicker rim, which is more difficult to drink from than fragile paper-thin crystal. There are also stemless wine glasses made of more unusual materials like ceramic, metal, or wood, which all have their own properties.
Thanks to 21st-century glass and plastic technology, many types of stemless wine glass can be washed in the dishwasher. Check your particular model to see if this is recommended, but no matter what, it's best to put them on the top rack, as "dishwasher-safe" crystal can get scratched by the harsh treatment of some dishwashers. This can also warp some plastic glasses, so you may need to use a cooler setting or just hand-wash.
Hand-washing stemless wine glasses is pretty simple and requires just a swipe with a soapy sponge—as long as you do so right after use. If you leave wine dregs to dry overnight in the glass, it'll be tough to clean, and the mineral deposits left behind can also damage the material over time.
The Spruce Eats / Kate Dingwall
Any way you find comfortable. You're supposed to hold a stemmed glass by the stem in order to keep your hands from warming up the wine in the bowl, and there's really no way to avoid that with a stemless glass. You don't want to keep a stemless glass in your grasp for too long; put it down on a table or countertop between sips.
Though wine glasses can vary pretty widely in total capacity, keep in mind that a pour of wine like you'd get in a restaurant is about 5 ounces (which works out to about 5 glasses per standard bottle). You want a glass with at least some extra room to swirl the wine—especially if you're drinking red—but a small serving can look lost in a cartoonishly huge glass. On the other hand, nobody says you can't pour more than 5 ounces at a time when you're serving wine at home.
Simply put, stemless glasses are less likely to spill or break. They have a low center of gravity and are hard to tip over, and there's no long, narrow stem that can snap right in half. They're great for parties because they're simply easier to hold onto. The major downside is that a stemless glass forces you to put your warm hand directly in contact with the bowl, which you don't want if you're drinking chilled, or even room-temperature, vino.
You might be tempted to store stemless glasses upside-down to keep dust from collecting in the bowl, but this can build up aromas in the bowl, or get gunk from a shelf's surface on the rim of the glass where you're going to put you're mouth. It's actually best to store wine glasses (stemless or otherwise) with the bowl open to the air. You can't use a hanging rack like you can with a stemmed glass, but a stemless glass will also take up a lot less room in the cabinet.
Siobhan Wallace wrote this story. A senior commerce writer for The Spruce Eats, she's written about food and wine for over a decade and is a stemless fan after breaking one too many wine stems. The Spruce Eats commerce writer Jason Horn updated this roundup with further testing details. A former editor at Liquor.com, he's been writing about food and drinks for almost 20 years.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/bpa/faq-20058331
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