Extra large apple shaped bowl with a large opening specifically designed to capture the bouquet and aromas of the wine.  Generally 12 - 16 ounces.

Less rounded than the Burgundy glass, the smaller opening captures the fragile intensity of the wine.

Tulip or trumpet shaped glass that can be filled to the top as Champagne is not usually swirled.  Often called a "Flute" or "Champagne Flute."

Port glasses are small elongated tulip shaped glasses with a smaller opening than other glasses. 

Sherry glasses are called a "Copita."  They are similar in shape to Port glasses, but slightly smaller.

In this day and age, everybody is jumping on the band wagon.  Now there are dedicated glasses for nearly every wine.  There are "Cabernet/Merlot," "Chardonnay," "Sauvignon Blanc," "Pinot Noir," and "Chianti Classico," to name a few.

There are camps on both sides in the leaded versus non-leaded glassware for wine.  If you aren't a Certified Wine Professional, it is doubtful you will notice the difference in taste and aromas from same sized glasses.  Likewise, you probably aren't going to leave your wine in a leaded crystal glass long enough to leach much, if any lead into the wine.  On the other hand, leaving wine in a leaded decanter for a lengthy period of time could leach lead into your wine. 

We have tried the comparison taste test on several occasions and at most, we noticed leaded crystal provided a better nose, (more definitive aromas), on some red wines.

   The primary reason to decant an older wine is to separate the sediment from the wine.  When air comes into contact with the wine, the wine will rust or give off alcohol and aromas at an accelerated rate.  A wine near the end of its life can have great aromas and flavors on the first few sips and be flat, tasteless at the bottom of the glass.  For older wines, we recommend standing the bottle upright for at least 30 minutes before opening.      

   Since you want little air to attack the wine, we recommend you use a small decanter with a narrow neck and/or small mouth.  Tip the decanter and slowly pour the wine into the neck of the decanter, letting it run down the inside rather than splashing it directly onto the bottom of the decanter, as the splashing aerate the wine more quickly.

   Pour each glass of wine by tipping the glass and allowing the wine to run down the side of the glass rather than splashing it into the bottom of the glass.  Re-cover the decanter to reduce amount of air reaching the remaining wine and enjoy fruits of that older wine.

   The wine experts write about the excellence of many big red wines, then tell you it will be ready to drink in 10 years.  We don't like to wait for our wines and got used to drinking hot, tannic wines that seemed to get better after a half hour in the glass, (or our taste buds went numb).  Well there is another way to enjoy young wines.  Decant them.

   Use a large decanter, preferably one with a large mouth and wide base, so the wine will get the maximum amount of air.  It's okay to splash the wine onto the bottom of the decanter in this case.  Let the wine sit in the open decanter for at least 30 minutes before drinking it.

   There are also fancy "Orbital" decanters that are made in a diamond shape so they can be placed on a table and rolled in a circle to aerate the wine. The mouth of this type decanter is rather small for exchanging air to the wine, but are nearly as effective and a better conversation piece.