Today Tra Vigne is one of Napa Valley's most popular restaurants. When it opened in 1988, it served all of it's wines in small, chunky tumblers. For a brief moment it was novel, there was something almost charming about it. After about a month the tumblers lost their novelty and were replaced by big, long-stemmed wine goblets. Diners and winemakers alike came to eschew the idea of drinking a $50 Merlot from a 99 cent tumbler.

     This begs to question: Does the choice of glass really affect the wine drinking experience? Is it really important or is it more a matter of aesthetics and tradition? The answer isn't always simple.

     The taper and size of the bowl can dramatically affect the experience because the amount of vapor that reaches your nose influences the taste, and the way a glass feels in your hand and against your lips can be more important than you might think. The reality is that a $100 glass won't make a wine taste any better than a well designed $10 glass. Here's what you need to know to get the most value from your wine drinking experience.

     Your focus should be on the wine, not the glass. Use simple, clear glasses that are not colored, etched, cut or faceted. You want to be able to see the wine, many people like to see the viscosity and how it looks in the glass. Crystal glasses are more exquisite than regular glasses, but unnecessary.

     Choose glasses with sufficient bowls. You want a bowl big enough to swirl easily because it will aerate the wine which gives it's best flavor. If a wine isn't sufficiently aerated it can taste flat and bland.

     Thin rims are preferable to thick. Liquids flow more easily and evenly over a thin edge, drinking wine from a glass with a thin rim is a more delightful experience. Many people are surprised at how much of a difference it makes.

     You want a glass with a rim that tapers slightly inward. As the wine aerates in the bottom the vapors will collect around the rim of a well made wine glass. This makes the wine smell and taste better.

     Make sure the base is large enough. The base should be wide enough for the glass to be stable when it's filled with wine. Some glasses might be pretty, but if the base is too small they might also leave you with red wine stains on the new carpet.

     Don't bother buying larger glasses for red wines and smaller glasses for whites. All wines benefit from aeration, so it's fine to serve both red and white wines from glasses with large bowls.

     Don't buy glasses you can't afford to break. What's the point of having elegantly crafted crystal wine glasses if you never take them out of the cabinet because you're afraid to use them?

     There are many glasses for around $10 that provide an excellent wine drinking experience. Reidel makes an all purpose glass that works for every type of wine (except sparkling wines in which case you'd want to use a flute) and are appropriate for most occasions. Sure, there are some specialized glasses for Rhone wines, Cabernets and Burgundies, but most of the time you should find that a basic, well designed glass won't let you down.