The wine tasting experience starts with a bottle of wine and a glass. There are not ironclad rules for wine glasses, but there are recommendations to enhance the experience.

For tasting and observing wine, the ideal glass (with a bowl and a stem) should be made of clear glass, allowing for visual appreciation of the wine’s appearance. Thin crystal without a pattern is especially ideal. Thin glass is preferable to thick, heavy glass as it has less influence on the wine’s temperature.

Wine should fill the glass between one half to two-thirds, leaving enough room to actually put your nose in the glass to smell well. The glass needs to be a size that allows room for both the wine and an empty space in the glass, as well as room to swirl. Swirling release the wine’s aroma.

To see the wine’s true color, holding the glass by the stem and tilt the wine at a 45-degree angle against a white background. The glass must have a stem and bowl so that the glass can be held by the stem. Holding the glass by the bowl can affect the temperature of the wine as well as leave fingerprints.

According to professional wine tasters, how the liquid reaches the tongue has an impact on the taste. That is why there are so many slightly different glass designs for different types of wine.

Following are some general rules when it comes to which glass to use: There are all-purpose wine glasses that can be used for different wines and assorted occasions, however certain shapes are usually recommended:

• Sparkling wines, including Champagne, should be served in “flutes.” This tall, tapered glass is shaped as such to allow the minimum amount of gas to escape, letting us enjoy the bubbles longer.
  
• Red wine glasses should be ten to sixteen ounces, with a larger, rounder bowl than the white-wine glass. It should taper inward at the top, as if starting to close in the bowl. The traditional wide coupe encourages carbon dioxide to evaporate as fast as possible.
  
• White-wine glasses should be medium size, and have a smaller bowl than red glasses, and taper inward at the top. This tapering will help focus the wine's aromas inward toward the nose.