We love drinking wine in the UK it seems. From red to white, sparkling to still.

On average, Britons drink 24 bottles of white wine a second, and 23 of red.

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Having a glass of wine in a beautiful glass is something of a ritual for many of us after a long week at work or looking after the kids.

Connoisseurs are very particular about what glasses wine should go in. You can get different sized and shaped glasses for different types of red or white wine alone, plus ones for port, sherry and dessert wine. The different shapes are designed to bring out the best taste and aroma in the wine. Day to day, most people really only need one set of long-stem glasses for white and sparkling wine, and another set for red, although many of us have flutes for sparkling.

However, if you’re starting to build a nice set of glasses, and with costs ranging from a few pounds per glass to even hundreds, knowing where to start can be tricky. Cheap and cheerful, or elaborate and expensive, and in crystal perhaps? You may not really need different glasses for port, dessert wine, Sancerre and Pinot Noir?

If you’re still baffled, speak to the specialist wine merchants found throughout the UK. If you’re looking for wine merchants in Northern Ireland, try http://thewinecompanyni.com/. Wine merchants really know their stuff and will be able to offer impartial advice.

White wine

White wine glasses always have a stem to prevent our hands warming up the contents, as warm white wine is pretty unpleasant. The trend for massive glasses seems to have waned as people try to drink less, so go for something with about 400ml capacity which is plenty big enough.

Red wine

You can go for a long-stemmed glass, but the current trend in restaurants is for red to be served in tumblers. Not only a lot harder to knock over, they allow the warmth of our hands to warm the wine, in turn allowing all the flavours of the wine to develop.

Sparkling wine

Go for a narrow flute over a coupe, as the smaller surface area of a flute allows the wine to keep its fizz for longer.

Once you’ve got the basics, you can continue to expand your collection in whatever direction your tastes take you!