I used to have a bit of a glass fetish. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing sinister in my appreciation of glassware, it's just that immediately after university, when I was first getting into wine seriously and had a bit of money in my back pocket, I went out and bought a number of Georg Riedel wine glasses.

Georg Riedel is the most influential man in wine glass design. When he inherited his father's glassware factory in Austria, the young Georg decided to design a range of glasses suited to various styles of wine. The premise was based on what Riedel describes as the 'tongue map.' By directing the flow of liquid toward a specific area of the tongue, a glass can actually alter the flavor of the wine. The Riedel portfolio is huge, with glasses for young Bordeaux, old Bordeaux, Chardonnay, Chianti, Burgundy, Riesling and so on. The prices can also be huge, ranging from £15 for a basic tasting glass to £100 for the Burgundy glass.

At various stages during my glassware fad I owned most of the major examples, including the Riedel Sommeliers Burgundy Grand Cru, whose elaborately ballooned bowl has earned it a place on permanent display in New York's Museum of Modern Art.

But my relationship with very expensive wine glasses ended when they began to break. One by one, my collection disappeared as rough and tumble living in a shared flat took its toll. Whether it was breaking them during washing-up, knocking them off the table or even on one occasion cracking them under hot, running water, I came to the conclusion that drinking wine from hand-made lead crystal probably wasn't for me. I went out and bought six boxes of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) wine-tasting glasses, the approved size and shape-a tapered tulip bowl-for wine judging and competitions and I have used them for tasting, bar the odd exception, ever since. And I must say that, for critically evaluating a wine, they have served me well.

But lately I have been rethinking my stance. I have been to a few dinners of late where the wine in question was, in no uncertain terms, ruined by the glass. Moreover, on other occasions when I have been served wine in Georg Riedel glass I have found it immeasurably improved.

So, with an open mind, an empty notebook and a bottle of wine, I visited Around Wine, Britain's largest glassware retailer, for a tasting.

Back in the days when I was buying serious wine glasses, Georg Riedel had the field to himself. Now there are two or three considerably cheaper suppliers that are worth tracking down. Most notably, Schott Zwiesel, Zalto Glasmanufaktur, Dartington and Eisch. It's worth bearing in mind that it isn't necessary to spend a fortune on your glass. As long as you follow a few basic principles when choosing, most glasses will suffice.

The three guiding principles are: The glass should be as thin as possible; it should not have a rim that interrupts the flow into the mouth; the bowl should also be as fat as possible, with the widest part a third of the way up-this is the level up to which you should pour the wine.

Now, on to the tasting. I selected a 2003 Chambolle-Musigny, in a bid to test the capricious Pinot Noir grape variety. I tasted it in five different glasses. An ISO, a Schott Zwiesel standard white wine glass, Riedel's Vinum Bordeaux, Zalto's handmade burgundy glass and Riedel's famous burgundy glass. In each glass, the wine's taste changed dramatically. In the ISO, it was very intense, with overpowering notes of baked cherry. In the Schott Zwiesel standard white wine glass, spicier notes were highlighted, while the Vinum Bordeaux revealed an earthy character. The latter two glasses were the obvious stars, making the wine taste more refined, pure and balanced. In short, they took all the heat out of it.

The Riedel was by a margin the winner, drawing out more nuanced flavors. But at a £100 a glass, compared with Zalto's £28, I know which I would prefer, especially considering my breakage record.

Will Lyons

• seriously [´siəriəsli] ad.严肃；严重，重大 (初中英语单词)
• austria [´ɔstriə] n.奥地利 (初中英语单词)
• liquid [´likwid] n.液体 a.流动的 (初中英语单词)
• actually [´æktʃuəli] ad.事实上；实际上 (初中英语单词)
• flavor [´fleivə] n.滋味 vt.给....调味 (初中英语单词)
• permanent [´pə:mənənt] a.永久的；不变的 (初中英语单词)
• expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
• collection [kə´lekʃən] n.收集；征收；募捐 (初中英语单词)
• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
• conclusion [kən´klu:ʒən] n.结束；结论；推论 (初中英语单词)
• crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)
• exception [ik´sepʃən] n.例外；反对，异议 (初中英语单词)
• lately [´leitli] ad.近来，不久前 (初中英语单词)
• uncertain [ʌn´sə:tn] a.不定的；不可靠的 (初中英语单词)
• moreover [mɔ:´rəuvə] ad.再者，此外，而且 (初中英语单词)
• variety [və´raiəti] n.变化；多样(性)；种类 (初中英语单词)
• character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
• obvious [´ɔbviəs] a.明显的；显而易见的 (初中英语单词)
• appreciation [ə,pri:ʃi´eiʃən] n.评价；感激 (高中英语单词)
• influential [,influ´enʃəl] a.有力的，有影响的 (高中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• specific [spi´sifik] a.具体的；特有的 (高中英语单词)
• relationship [ri´leiʃənʃip] n.关系；联系；亲属关系 (高中英语单词)
• considerably [kən´sidərəbli] ad.显著地；十分 (高中英语单词)
• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)
• intense [in´tens] a.强烈的；紧张的 (高中英语单词)
• cherry [´tʃeri] n.樱桃(树) (高中英语单词)
• margin [´mɑ:dʒin] n.边缘；空白；余地 (高中英语单词)
• sinister [´sinistə] a.阴险的；不吉的 (英语四级单词)
• premise [´premis] n.前提 v.引导 (英语四级单词)
• notebook [´nəutbuk] n.笔记本 (英语四级单词)
• refined [ri´faind] a.精制的；文雅的 (英语四级单词)
• winner [´winə] n.胜利者，得奖者 (英语四级单词)
• drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
• considering [kən´sidəriŋ] prep.就...而论 (英语四级单词)
• notably [´nəutəbli] ad.显著地；著名地 (英语六级单词)