Wine glasses: The essentials

4 Stemless wine glasses
Though quite popular with the trendy set, James is not a fan of stemless wine glasses. Stemless glasses are extremely susceptible to smudges and fingerprints that quickly sully the pristine look of your tabletop. Worse still, the direct contact of your hand on the bowl of the glass will quickly change the temperature of the wine within. A change in temperature will alter the taste and aroma of a wine, making stemless glasses a particularly poor choice for chilled white wines. Swirling the liquid is also more difficult with stemless wine glasses leading James to proclaim that these are, "the only glass I think I don't like."

Despite the downsides, stemless wine glasses do hold a certain aesthetic appeal. If you find yourself swayed by the stemless option, enjoy your wine in these chic crystal glasses from Schott Zwiesel. $40 US (for a set of 6), Pottery Barn.