Glasses at the table of starred gastronomic restaurants

Table glasses are part of the prestige of starred gastronomic restaurants. Glasses are part of what we call the art of the table. Chosen by the chefs, sommeliers, bartenders and placed on the tables by the waiters, the table glasses of starred gastronomic restaurants must be both aesthetically beautiful and allow the drink poured into them to express its full potential. That is to say, its smell, its taste and its visual aspect. Bestwine – Online presents you all the references of table glasses chosen by the professionals who work in the starred gastronomic restaurants. Trust the opinion of professionals such as chefs, sommeliers, bartenders and waiters of the most beautiful addresses of the high gastronomy to choose your table glasses

The best table glasses

With Bestwine – Online, the reference for the best table glasses:

• Enjoy a drink in the right glass to enhance its visual appearance, smell and taste.
• Offer a table glass or a set of glasses to table of exception.
• Enrich your tableware with prestigious table glasses.
• Discover all the information you need to know about table glasses and their specificities in order to easily choose your table glass.

Best brands of table glasses

Refer to the opinions of chefs, sommeliers and bartenders from starred gourmet restaurants around the world to discover the best tableware brands in the world. Rankings and comparisons of table glasses selected in starred gastronomic restaurants by experts in the field of high gastronomy.

The table glass

Definition of the table glass: the table glass is a container allowing to serve, look, smell and taste a liquid content. The table glass can be made of different materials. Most often, the table glass is made of glass or crystal.

Choosing the right table glass

A table glass can have different elements:

• A neck
• A body or chalice
• A bottom or base
• A foot
• A stem
• A handle

A good table glass must :

• Have a neck diameter adapted to the liquid contained
• Have a shape adapted to the liquid contained
• Have a thickness adapted to the liquid contained
• Have a weight that makes it easy to hold
• Have a volume adapted to the contained liquid
• Be made of materials adapted to the liquid contained
• Have a bottom adapted to the contained liquid
• Optionally have a base to stabilize the container and facilitate its handling
• Optionally have a handle to make it easier to hold

The choice of a table glass can be made on aesthetic criteria. However, before selecting a table glass, it is important to understand the purpose of a table glass and the criteria that make it special

Wine glasses, champagne glasses, whisky glasses or beer glasses are all bottles that can have different shapes, different sizes, different materials, different weights, different grip, different diameter, different base, different neck, different chalice or body, different glass thickness or different patterns

The difference in these characteristics is not random and their main objective is to allow the beverage to reveal its aromas and flavors, its color and texture, its taste and strength, but also to facilitate the tasting for the person who drinks from the glass

Whether it is an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, the table glass must be the support that highlights the liquid it contains. The container must never steal the show from the content. This is why professionals in the world of gourmet restaurants choose table glasses that are at once stylish, practical and efficient.

A good glass should be designed to allow the beverage it contains to breathe properly. All beverages, alcoholic or not, when they are in contact with the air, change. This means that their taste will change more or less strongly. Wines, for example, when in contact with air, change their taste over time. This is called “letting the wine breathe”. This also happens during the decanting of the wine in the decanter that receives it. The table glass must also allow the wine and any other beverage to breathe. Spirits such as whiskey, cognac, rum,armagnac, vodka or other drinks also change taste with oxidation. The table glass should allow for the proper oxidation of the drink it contains as soon as it is poured into the bottle. Thus, the glass must be designed so that its shape accommodates the liquid. Some beverages must be received with more or less softness depending on their profile. A beer glass, for example, will be designed to hold beer so that it foams properly. Similarly, the glass must have a shape that allows the person tasting the beverage to accelerate or not the phenomenon of breathing of the beverage, in particular by circulating and swirling the beverage within the glass.

The aeration of the beverage within the glass must allow the content to be smelled. The neck of the glass must be adjusted according to the drink it contains. For example, to concentrate the aromas of the beverage, tasting glasses have a much smaller diameter than the body or chalice of the glass. This reduces the size of the neck to maximize the concentration of the beverage’s aromas. Every table glass should have a neck size that is appropriate for the contents. A beer glass whose content is less powerful olfactory will have a wider neck, while whiskey or red wine will require smaller necks. For a wine glass, the neck that is also called the “buvant”, the thinner it is, the more it is considered as a quality table glass

The table glass must be relatively thin. This allows for better observation of the reactions of the beverage within the glass from its texture to its flow on the walls. The observation of the drops of liquid that run down the walls allows to draw conclusions on the fineness of the drink. A drink can be liquorous like a liqueur or more fluid like a spirit. The table glass should have a harmonious shape to match the undulation of the liquid as it is worked and shaken within the contents to observe its texture. Curved shapes on table glasses are the norm although some beverages can be received in more structured table glasses. Wine glasses, for example, will always have a curved bowl. Beers or certain spirits, for example, will sometimes have a more angular body. The shape of the glass is also important for certain beverages, especially carbonated liquids. Effervescent drinks should be served in glasses that allow the carbon dioxide emulsions they contain to be enhanced. Thus, the long table glass makes it possible to develop the bubbles which go up on the surface of the bottle. It should also be noted that effervescent beverages foam, which requires the use of long glasses to accommodate the foam created when the beverage is poured into the glass. Champagne glasses and flutes or beer pints are table glasses whose shape can accommodate foam.

The base of the glass must have a shape that enhances the liquid contained. Thus, a glass base can be thick or thin. A thin glass base allows for better visualization of the liquid. A thick glass base, on the other hand, allows for the play of light to observe the visual variations of the beverage. Each drink requires a different glass base depending on its fineness. A thin glass is not necessarily a fragile glass. A glass must be strong and solid to be durable. A quality glass can be washed regularly and will not scratch. Similarly, a glass table should be easy to maintain. Therefore, the glass must not have any hard-to-reach areas for washing.

For a table glass, the base guide with a stem is optional. In the art of tableware, the stem of a glass allows the grip of the container so as not to hide the chalice or body of the glass with the hand but also not to dirty the body or chalice of the glass with the fingers and not to heat the glass when it is held in hand. A stem for a table glass also aims to facilitate the grip. It is also an aesthetic criterion. Thus, thanks to the stem, the quality of the drink is not altered. The foot or the base of the glass serves finally to stabilize the element on the table by being wider at its root.

The table glass must also facilitate the handling of the person who uses it. A table glass must be stable in order to be fixed to the table. Thus, the table glass must adhere properly to the support that receives it. The base of the table glass must be designed to fit flat and horizontal surfaces. The adherence of the glass is also a factor to be taken into account since the base of the glass or its foot must not slip on the various materials on which they are placed (fabric, cotton, glass, plastic, cardboard, stone…).

The handling of a table glass also depends on its grip. The table glass must allow a good grip thanks to an ergonomics adapted to the human hand. The foot of the glass, its structure, its neck and sometimes its handle must be thought to ensure a good support when the table glass is held in hand. The glass must also be as light as possible to make it easier to lift and place. It is also important that the rims of the glass fit the lips of the person drinking the beverage.

Aesthetically, there is a multitude of table glasses designed by many brands. Aesthetics is an important point for a table glass but it should not take precedence over the performance of the bottle to enhance its contents. The color of a table glass must logically be translucent and neutral. We speak of crystalline table glass, that is to say a colorless and transparent glass. Table glass can have engraved or printed patterns. These can affect the visual performance of the glass. It is preferable to choose a glass with transparent patterns inlaid or drawn on the table glass.

A good table glass can be made of glass or crystal. Crystal is certainly a fine, high-end component that has advantages over glass, such as light refraction (crystal is brighter than glass) and strength (crystal, contrary to popular belief, is stronger than glass). Crystal table glasses are however heavier than glass and more expensive. There is not much difference between crystal and glass table glasses. That’s why the best table glasses can be made of glass or crystal. These materials also have the advantage that they do not affect the taste of the liquids they touch.

In tableware, glasses are arranged according to their size, in descending order, from left to right: the water glass, one or two red wine glasses, the white wine glass or the champagne flute. The red wine glasses have a different shape depending on the type of beverage (burgundy or claret), and are half filled.

A table glass must also be designed to accommodate other elements than the liquid. This is particularly the case for cocktails that may require the integration of other components such as fruit. Ice cubes can also accompany certain drinks in order to refresh them. For drinks that can be accompanied by ice cubes or crushed ice, a suitable glass should be chosen, i.e. a wide glass.

The size of the glass should be selected according to the amount of liquid poured in the drink. For example, a large table glass will be used to serve beer and small glasses to serve shooters that require shot glasses. The size of the glasses often depends on the liquids consumed. A wine glass will be larger or smaller depending on the type of wine. Depending on the moment of use of the glass, for an aperitif, a meal, a digestif or a dessert for example, the capacity will not be the same

Authentic rankings and comparisons to choose your table glasses

The selection of high end table glasses