This article will give you good ideas and information about wine glasses.

All wine glasses have stems that connect the base to the bowl or cone of the glass. It is proper etiquette to hold the stem of the glass. This keeps your hand from heating the wine and it keeps fingerprints off the bowl.

There are three main styles of wine glasses: all-purpose white wine glass, large bulbous glasses for red wine, and a third style for sparkling wine, a flute, which is tall and very slender.

There are many additional wine glass styles to investigate at upscale wine shops and house wares stores, but sticking to the three styles makes the most sense for most people. There are even wine glasses for individual grapes. The Burgundy glass, theoretically, is designed for the enjoyment of Pinot Noir wines that come from Burgundy.

If you do not own any decent wine glasses, get a set of the all- purpose glasses. The Burgundy glass has a bulbous bowl, some more wide than tall, on a stem that is used almost exclusively for red wines. Burgundy-style glasses look sharp but are less practical than white wine glasses.

White wine should not be served in a Burgundy glass, but the all-purpose white wine glass is perfectly fine for red wines.

If you entertain guests, or yourself for that matter, and you like red wine, it is nice to have a set of both the all-purpose and the larger red glasses. This allows you to serve two different wines without there being any confusion about which glass holds which wine. The better wine goes in the bigger glass. Wine glasses come in different sizes. It is possible to buy a glass that holds 16 ounces or more.

A good-sized glass holds 12 ounces, and you probably do not want to buy a glass that holds less than 10 ounces. The recommendation is that your everyday glass be an all-purpose one that holds about 10 ounces. Larger glasses do add an exclamation point to a festive occasion and are a good way to go when choosing a second set, but they are a bit ostentatious and more likely to get broken.

Stay way from odd colors or shapes for your wine glasses. Wine is meant to be looked at through clear glass and to flow out of your glass smoothly without nooks and crannies to negotiate.

Wine glasses do break. Because you are going to lose some glasses over time, you should buy glasses that are easy to replace and that you can afford to break on occasion.

Do not serve wine in plastic glasses or cups. If you are having a large reception, you can rent wine glasses for the occasion, usually at a reasonable price. It adds a little class to the occasion, regardless of the wine in the glass.