The shape of a wine glass can impact the taste of the wine, and for this reason different types of wine are served in different glasses. The proper way to hold any style of glass is by the stem; this keeps fingerprints off the bowl and keeps your hand from heating the wine.

What kind of glasses should you buy? Not only do glasses come in different shapes, but they range in size as well. Too large a bowl can make a glass unsteady. For a good all-purpose wine glass, opt for a minimum capacity of 10 oz. The glass should be transparent to enable the holder to examine the wine's colour and body, and curve in at the top to retain the bouquet. All-purpose white wine glasses will suffice for serving red wine, but do not serve a white wine in a red wine glass.

- Standard white wine glass (tulip shaped)
- Red wine (larger bowl, more rounded)
- Flutes for sparkling wine (tall and thin)

There are also larger glasses developed for serious wine tasters that allow the nose to enter the glass so the drinker can smell the aroma. Small goblet style glasses are good for dessert wines since they are drunk in small portions.