Riedel Vinum Chardonnay/Chablis Wine Glasses, Set of 6

As for taste, when drinking, this type of glass does flow the wine more directly on the tongue, which also leads to a different initial taste (which is one reason to move the wine around). However, the initial taste is more pronounced on the drinking experience.

The fine lip is nice -- not too thin so that you worry about chipping it and swallowing glass pieces, like some of our fine crystal, and not so wide that you think you are biting on a block of wood. The texture is nice, too.

However, I find it harder to swish the wine in these glasses. They seem a bit top-heavy when swishing (but are finely balanced for drinking). It has an advantage of rising on the glass walls and leaving tears for analysis, but I would rather have a more balanced swish so that I can smell it better.

We use a mix of glass types and, depending on the approach (e.g., simple enjoyment or more analytical), will choose the glass accordingly. Still, there is no argument that these glasses make a real difference.