The Wine Glass That Stands Out by Focusing on What’s Inside

Since Austrian designer Thomas Zichtl founded MarkThomas in 2012, elite dining destinations have adopted the company’s wine glasses, including Michelin three-starred restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Spain and Minneapolis’s cozy Bachelor Farmer. The sides of the handblown Allround are only about a half-millimeter thick, making the glass lighter than most. Gently beveled curves near the base of the bowl aren’t merely cosmetic; the design creates a larger surface area to aerate the wine and highlight its flavors.

At $70 per glass, the MarkThomas Allround is within range of the top-shelf options from Riedel and Zalto, two other Austrian names that dominate the market. (Spiegelau, another well-known glassmaker, was acquired by Riedel in 2004.) Riedel specializes in specific varietal glasses and has become a wedding registry staple, but its Sommeliers series includes glasses for rare whites and reds that cost three figures. Zalto, like Riedel, has been around for decades. Lately, its $59 Denke’Art Universal glasses have become a status symbol at wine-focused restaurants such as New York’s Charlie Bird and Le Bernardin.