To fully  enjoy a glass of wine, from the aroma and texture, down to the flavor and finish—pairing it with the right glass or stemware matters a lot.

And no matter how good a particular vintage is, pouring wine in a paper cup, like most people do in supermarkets and beach parties, will greatly diminish its taste and aroma. You’re probably better off drinking cheap wine coolers.

Frantz Dumey, vice president for Asia of Austrian wine glass company Riedel, demonstrated the intricacies to a group of journalists in a recent wine-tasting event at Elbert’s Steak Room in Makati. (Elbert’s is one of only two restaurants in the world with a Riedel Room.)

Four types

Riedel has been producing mouth- and machine-blown wine glasses since 1756. It began developing “grape varietal-specific” stemware in the 1950s with some of the world’s leading winemakers.