All eight pieces - flute, red wine, white wine, port, water, hi-ball, tumbler, and shot - are purposely tailored to bring restaurant standards home.
It's a distillation of the vast range of glasses available to a restaurateur. Here, Royal Doulton collaborated with sommeliers from the Maze and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. The result? A selection wide enough to be the ultimate sommelier collection, yet simplified enough to allow you to be maitre d' at home.
The clear glass keeps the focus on the drink itself, and is versatile and easy to clean. Since it's plain, rather than cut, the glass is thinner - enough to let you sip and savour - and more refined to meet modern minimalist tastes. But it has the depth to be dishwasher safe. What's more, the stemware features simple stems that are slender yet strong, with sturdy bases to match.
Gordon Ramsay was personally involved in the design of the champagne flute as a signature piece, ideal for champagne or sparkling wine. He said, "The champagne flute is elegant but not too tall, so it is stable. The return cave is designed to retain the bubbles and is ideally sized for drinking or sipping."
And he had direct input into the rest of the range. Gordon Ramsay commented, "It's essential that correctly sized and shaped glasses are used for different wines, because grape varieties release their aromas and flavours in various ways and the shape of the glass helps to capture the full flavour. The shape and width of the rim delivers wine into distinct areas of the mouth, giving totally different effects and taste sensations."
Gordon said, "I chose a large Bordeaux glass so that a small amount of wine would be correctly appreciated and a similar approach was followed for the white wine glass."
He added, "The hi-ball, tumbler, and shot glass were designed with a thick base to give stability and balance in the hand. The wide bottomed tumbler was created to feel comfortable in the palm."
Sheer practicality was the thinking behind each glass: they are as durable as they are elegant, being purpose made to fit dishwashers with their well-judged heights and bases and sturdy stems.
