Zalto Carafe No 150

The largest of the three Zalto carafes, at 300 millimetres tall with a 1,600 millilitre capacity.

Zalto Glas is a family glassworks in Austria's Kremstal, where every piece is mouth-blown by hand and made without lead, the bowls angled to 24, 48 and 72 degrees after the tilt of the earth. The carafes follow the same thinking as the stems: nothing added, nothing that gets in the way of use. At this size the No 150 takes a full bottle comfortably with room for air above it, and the proportions stay easy to handle when full. It pours cleanly, stores without trouble, washes out without a brush and drains by being inverted onto a tea towel, which is more than can be said for most decanters of this volume. The plain shape also means it sits happily in the refrigerator, whether for white wine or to bring a decanted red back down after it has grown too warm.

Use it for red or white wine and equally for water at the table. Hand-wash in warm water without detergent and dry with a lint-free cloth.