A Basic Guide to Understanding Stemware.

Bewildered by the wide array of sizes and shapes of stemware?

As you learn here, each is designed for a specific beverage. Learn the basics and you'll always be a gracious hostess.

Stemware is available in a range of crystal and glassware. Lead crystal is a long-term investment. It is made of 25 percent lead oxide and may be handblown, etched, or engraved.

The following are the basic types of stemware and their uses:

• Pilsner
  Tall and slender with a weighted base, pilsner glasses are traditional for beer, ale, stout, and similar beverages.

• General Purpose
  This glass is appropriate for red, white, and rose wines when wine is served as a cocktail. It also may be used at an informal table setting.

• Champagne Flute
  This tall, slender shape conserves the bubbles of champagne and sparkling wines. In recent years, the flute has replaced the wider stem for general-purpose use.

• Red Wine
  The bowl shape allows red wine to breathe. This shape stem is appropriate for cocktails and for meals. Larger glasses of this shape often are used as festive water goblets.

• Martini Glass
  Traditionally used only for martinis, this glass shape also works well for specialty drinks, such as margaritas or frozen drinks. It can substitute as a champagne glass.

• White Wine
  This glass is smaller and narrower than a red wine glass because white wine doesn't require breathing.

• Highball or Water Glass
  Used for drinks made with mixers (highballs), this glass also is appropriate for nonalcoholic drinks and for water.

• Old-Fashioned Glass
  This small glass is used for drinks "on the rocks" or for mixed drinks traditionally served in smaller glasses.

*** for a more indepth discussion on serving cocktails - See my "Cocktail Guide"