Zalto Gravitas Omega 6 Pack

Zalto's Burgundy glass without a base, balanced on a sphere at the foot of the stem.

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 Gravitas Omega is the range at its most deliberate: the wide Burgundy bowl is left intact and the base beneath it is taken away, replaced by a sphere at the bottom of the stem. The glass then rests on a small flattened area on its side, lying at an angle instead of standing upright. The bowl still does what the Burgundy shape always does, offering a large surface for a wine to open across, and the walls are as thin as anywhere in the collection. Shannon Bennett of Vue de Monde first pointed us towards it after encountering one in Europe and asked us to bring some in for the restaurant.

It is unmistakably a piece for show, or for the person who already has all the other shapes; supplied as a six pack. Hand-wash in warm water without detergent and dry with a lint-free cloth.