Wine served in a glass is always a pleasure

I bought a set of vintage wine glasses on eBay. They are pale pink and quite a lot smaller than I expected (they hold about 120millilitres). My father says that they are too small to use and also that wine should not be served in coloured glass. Your view?

A minute’s silence, please, while we spare a thought for the less fortunate.

Right now, somewhere in the world, someone at an impromptu office party is sipping wine from a novelty coffee mug, savouring the lingering bouquet of International Roast. Someone else is visiting a private home and watching, dismayed, as her host pours the wine she brought into pewter goblets (engraved, perhaps, with scenes of Viking feasting) or wooden ones (more likely to feature hand-carved palm trees or similar tropical motif).

Since none of these vessels do the vino any favours – trust me, I’ve tried them all – I am always grateful to be served wine in an actual glass, even if it’s the kind that used to contain Vegemite.

Having said that, 120millilitres is indeed on the small side by contemporary standards. To get a standard drink pour, which is not especially generous, you’ll need to fill the glass nearly to the brim, leaving no space to safely swish your wine around or enjoy its aroma.

As for colour? Aficionados tend to favour clear glass because it’s better for assessing and appreciating a wine’s colour. But pale pink sounds fairly inoffensive to me – better for wine of any kind than a dark or lurid colour.

If you really like the glasses you’ve bought and want to use them, they might work for dessert or fortified wines. These are typically poured in smaller volumes than other table wines. And at the end of the meal, who – other than your father – is going to care?

If you have poured your guests enough wine over the course of the evening they will be too busy with scandalous flirtations, inappropriate disclosures and random character assassinations to bother peering at their glasses and commenting on the colour.