The Original Universal Wine Glass is the result of Richard Brendon's collaboration with Jancis Robinson OBE MW, and it began with a provocation: that a household does not need a shelf of specialised stems when one well-considered glass will do. The design brief was a single glass for still, sparkling, fortified and sweet wines.
The execution is deliberately restrained. The glass stands 22.4 cm tall with a 9 cm diameter and is built around a 125 ml pour, the measure that suits everything from young Bordeaux to aged Sauternes. It is mouth-blown in lead-free crystal, which keeps the weight down and the rim fine.
For the collector, the case is about reduction. Tasting across regions and styles in one session is easier when the vessel is constant, and entertaining is simpler when one glass does the work of four. The glass is a current product line with variants on the official site, listed at GBP 96.00 for a set of two at richardbrendon.com.
