In the world of high-end stemware design, rugged and low has been winning out over thin and spindly. Wine glasses without stems have been making a slow but steady inroads into the status quo of the beverage world. Cylindrical snifter-like glasses with minimal bases (if any at all) are fast becoming popular among younger wine drinkers. What starts with the young may spread to the old. Already, many food and beverage representatives across the country are setting up their wine tasting events with - ahem – stemless wine snifters.

Companies that have been releasing long stemmed glasswares onto the market have , in general, been the larger houseware corporations that have not had their finger on the pulse what's “cool” in the brandy bars and chic bistros across the land. While “cool” is a completely subjective , if not annoying term, good marketers will do well to pay attention to its power. For example, as long stemmed glasses have begun to fall from favor, there is no longer a connection between long stemmed glasses and sophistication. In many circles, a stemless, “low rider” wine tumbler is thought of to have more cache and refinement than the traditional wine glass. Why ? It's simple. Low rider wine glasses are cool.

Underneath the “cool” association runs a vein of practicality. Flashback to 2004: the launch of the Riedel “O” glass became the rage in urban wine aficionado circles. As the story goes, Maximilian Riedel (eleventh generation glassmaker from the Riedel family) lived in a small apartment with little space for tall stems. Many of us urban dwellers can empathize. Hence, he created the shorter, stemless, “O” glasses as a great solution. Max wanted a quality wine glass, that didn't take up much space. Hence, Riedel created his own version of a high-end stemless wine glass.

These days, stemless wine glasses are a required vessel in all wine lover's cabinets. When refinement is less important than simplicity, a stemless wine glass is a great solution. If you're hosting a party with a lot of guests, stemless wine glasses can go directly in the dishwasher without the worry of stem breakage.

So one might ask, why did glasses have stems in the first place? For more serious tastings, the stem of a glass allows one to swirl the wine easily and evenly. It also prevents foggy hand prints which can muck up the look of your glass. Finally, holding a glass at its stem helps maintain the temperature of the wine. When a glass is held at the bowl, your warm hand can heat up the wine over time.

Perhaps the zenith of stemless wine glasses is embodied by Waterford Crystal's Lismore Nouveau collection. The legendary Irish glassmaker has sculpted these sturdy yet elegant wine tumblers to fit beautifully in the hand with a delicately contoured bowl to bring out wine bouquet . The minimally cut facets in the glass recall a restrained Art Deco elegance that suggests even casual use to be appropriate. Perhaps no other glassmaker has matched Waterford's success in pulling graceful elegance into almost rugged territory.