Zalto Spittoon 250 Green

A mouth-blown spittoon in green smoked glass, sized for a table of tasters rather than one.

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. Zalto introduced the spittoon for a plain reason: the workshop disliked the stilbruch, the clash of style, between fine glassware on a tasting bench and the plastic bucket standing next to it. This is the larger of the two sizes, holding around 2,500 millilitres and made for a table working through a flight, while the smaller model suits a lone taster with roughly 500 millilitres. It is made in the same way as the stems, blown by hand and finished in smoked glass, and the green carries a depth that keeps it from looking like equipment. An extravagance, certainly, though a little extravagance goes a long way here.

Use it at tastings, at the table or on a bench, and it makes a considered gift for a serious taster. Hand-wash in warm water without detergent and dry with a lint-free cloth.