- Luxury wine club 67 Pall Mall in Singapore has around 10,000 glasses — but it recommends one for nearly every wine.
- The universal wine glass's shape and breadth make it perfect for wine and Champagne.
- Cleaning and handling the glasses presents a logistical challenge, says master of wine Richard Hemming.
Luxury wine club 67 Pall Mall Singapore boasts a collection of 10,000 glasses. But one stands out as the club's most versatile piece: the universal wine glass by Zalto.
"It's what I have at home, too," said Richard Hemming, the club's head of wine in Asia and one of Singapore's four masters of wine, about the universal wine glass.
He said that the glass is a good fit for nearly every type of wine served, from Champagne to robust reds.
"This shape is a perfect compromise. It has thinness, but it has a bit of breadth," Hemming said. "You can pour sparkling in there, red wine, white wine — it's good for everything."
The universal wine glass is a staple of the club's operations, which require reliable and versatile glassware.
The club opened in 2022 for seasoned wine enthusiasts following the success of the original London branch. On Business Insider's recent visit this summer, 841 glasses were on the floor, while the bulk of the club's glassware was stored off-site.
The 10,000 total glasses support the club's busy schedule of events and tastings, including off-site.
While the universal wine glass is most frequently used, other specialized glasses are employed, particularly for Bordeaux, Burgundy, and sweet wines. Hemming told BI that there's a distinctive glass that pairs with white Burgundy.
"Any good chardonnay —Australian, New Zealand — would go in a white burgundy glass," said Hemming.
Sweet wine is also served in distinctive glassware, known simply as a sweet wine glass or vintage Champagne glass, which has a more delicate and pointed shape, Hemming told BI.
"The point with sweet wine is normally that you serve less, so you need less room," said Hemming.
Having myriad wine glasses also presents logistical challenges for the club's staff.
"The lag time to wash and prepare those glasses for the next day is long," Hemming told BI.
Maintaining the club's extensive collection of glassware requires careful handling. At home, Hemming recommends using hot water and a microfiber cloth to clean wine glasses, not detergent.