(FoxNews) - If you’re a casual drinker of wines, you’re probably good with the wine glass you’ve got.

But if you’re considering taking things up a notch — exploring varietals and regional styles — you may want to rethink your vessel of choice. If you’re using the same glass to drink a light-bodied pinot noir and a big, bold cabernet sauvignon, you may not be experiencing the fine qualities of either.

Renowned glassmaker Georg Riedel, the 10th-generation head of Austria-based Riedel Crystal, has spent decades developing the company’s varietal-specific lines of wine glasses, using physics to bring out the best in wines made from different types of grapes.

“We’re in charge of delivering the aromas and then the flavors to the palate,” Riedel says. “The perception is triggered through the fact that the glasses deliver liquid to different parts of your palate.”

The way you experience wine goes way beyond your taste buds. Riedel says it’s about how the wine feels in the mouth and – even more importantly – your sense of smell. The back of your palate is the back door to your nasal cavity, and the sense of smell that’s triggered when you swallow is key to how you experience a wine.

In the 1950s, Riedel’s father, Claus, developed the wine-friendly egg-shaped glass that’s prevalent today. (Before that, wine glasses were often attractive but not necessarily functional – generally in an old-school bell or V-shape.) Since then, Georg Riedel has worked with winemakers to learn what works best with different types of grapes. The company offers varietal-specific glasses in many of its lines, from the pricey hand-blown Sommelier line to the mid-range machine-made Vinum line.

“What we do is – by trial and error, with the help of the winemaker – fine-tune the shape to the expression he likes,” Riedel says. “We feel like architects. An architect has his own vision, but at the end of the day it’s the customer who tells him how his house or his apartment will be built.”

Those design skills aren’t limited to wine. Riedel is particularly proud of the company’s Coca-Cola glass, designed in 2013 with a panel of tasters from the soda giant in Atlanta to give the perfect expression to Classic Coke. The brand is near and dear to Riedel, who remembers getting a dozen glass bottles of Coke for his birthday as a child in Austria. The Coca-Cola glass pays homage to the vintage Coke bottle shape and is designed to create smaller, longer-lasting bubbles.

Michael Engelmann, wine director at The Modern NYC (the trendy restaurant at New York’s Museum of Modern Art), is a fan of Riedel’s varietal-specific line, which is inspiring interest from diners, particularly those participating in the restaurant’s wine-by-the-glass program.

“You have guests that ask the question, ‘Why did I get a different glass?’ It intrigues people.” Engelmann says.