If you follow our monthly Strategist haul, then you’re familiar with the idiosyncrasies of our editors’ and writers’ shopping habits. While we think of those as the highlights, there are plenty of other, less glamorous things we buy — and love — on the regular, too. So whether you’ve wondered about the planners that keep us organized, or coffee makers we rely on, this is the Stuff We Buy Ourselves. In this holiday edition, here are the wine glasses (and regular glasses) we drink festive drinks from.
Lauren Ro, writer
My drink of choice is wine, but I don’t know much about it, and I’m perfectly happy sipping the house wine at restaurants because it makes me feel like I’m in Europe. The last time I got “nice” wine glasses was five years ago, and I think they were from Riedel’s diffusion line sold at Target. (These are the champagne flutes I have.) I can barely handle two glasses at a time, so standard stems are just too big for my purposes. I’ve always liked the squat, mini glasses they have at certain bistros across the city for their everydayness and how drinking from them gives me the illusion of having a higher tolerance than I actually do. I don’t think Ikea carries them anymore, but I got a bunch of short, thick-stemmed ones from there for no money at all. This set of six from Amazon is comparable.
Maxine Builder, writer
I have many thoughts on this, of course.
Most of my wineglasses are from Crate and Barrel, because they’re readily available and cheap enough to replace when they break (and in my house, for some reason, they always do, which is why I will never own Zaltos, even though that’s all I really want in this life). These stemless wineglasses are a little thick and not exactly elegant, but for $3, they’re a fantastic deal and relatively sturdy and what I use when I have guests at my house who are more focused on imbibing than giving tasting notes.
If I’m drinking something that deserves a proper sniff and swirl, or I want to make a glass of cheap wine seem like more of an event, I bust out the real stemware — like these Schott Zwiesel Tour white-wine glasses. I was drawn to the slightly angular bottom, and the German-made glass is thin enough to feel fancy but not too delicate. The price is right, too. When a subletter broke one of them, I didn’t feel too bad about making them pony up $14 to replace it.
At some point, I also picked up a set of these more traditionally shaped Snowe white-wine glasses, which I’ve really been enjoying. Like the Schott Zwiesel glasses, these Italian-made ones are sturdy yet still have more similarities to fine crystal than a water glass. (I should also note here that I drink more red wine than white, but the reason I prefer so-called white-wine glasses is because red-wine glasses from these less-snobby brands are often comically large, which causes me to overpour, and that usually doesn’t end well.)
For sparkling wine, I am anti–Champagne flute and pro–coupe glass. Plus, coupe glasses can also be used as cocktail glasses for drinks served up, like a martini. Most of my cocktail glassware is vintage or thrifted or passed down from friends, but these from CB2 are very similar to one of my favorite sets at a very thrift-shop–friendly price.
Katy Schneider, associate editor
I drink everything — wine, cocktails, milk (just kidding, I’m not four), water, apple cider — out of my assortment of Fish’s Eddy glasses. I have little ribbed guys (the Hoops Cooler Glass), medium-sized guys (the Classic Glass), and normie-looking taller guys (the Picardie Cooler Glass) pictured here. They’re durable, plain, and cheap — what else is there to say?
Karen Iorio Adelson, writer
I love these glasses, which I chose for my wedding registry, because they’re simple, nice-looking, and most importantly not too precious. Considering I use my wine glasses a lot, and have a cat who lives to knock things over, I knew I couldn’t get anything that’d be too expensive to replace when I inevitably break a few glasses. I also like that these are on the thicker side (so a little more durable) and are dishwasher-safe.
David Notis, writer
I have a cheap set of traditionally shaped wineglasses, but I’m honestly not sure where they’re from. I rarely use them because I don’t have a dishwasher and they’re a pain to wash by hand. I think it’s clear that I’m not super enthusiastic about these wineglasses, but since I don’t drink much wine, I haven’t felt the need to buy a new set.
If I were to buy new ones, I would get more of a thick glass tumbler-type thing that’s low maintenance and can be stacked vertically to conserve cabinet real-estate. I would probably get some of those Duralex bistro tumblers. They look nice, can be repurposed for whiskey or mixed drinks, and they’re cheap enough that it’s not a huge deal if someone breaks one.
Liza Corsillo, writer/editor
I don’t have a lot of excess cabinet space and I don’t entertain enough to make wineglasses a priority. So instead of stemmed glasses I use these small tumblers from French brand Duralex. They make me feel like I’m dining in a hideaway Parisian bistro and they’re also good for a small portion of juice.
Margaret Rhodes, senior editor
I’ve become a pretty discerning and opinionated buyer of wine, but I haven’t owned a proper wine glass in a long time. At home, we either drink out of ceramic tumblers I bought when I once wandered into a student sale at Greenwich House Pottery, or out of green glass Ikea cups. Lately, though, I’ve been wanting some stems. And since I can drink out of an elegant paper-thin Riedel at any number of restaurants, I’m in the mood for something a little weird. I keep coming back to these chunky green That ‘70s Show–ish Libbey glasses with the gold rim. The low center of gravity makes them look durable, but they’re infinitely replaceable on Etsy if one or a few do break.
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