(WSJ) - Phew! Lifting a wine glass is getting easier.

Wineglass makers are slimming down their already delicate stemware, promising that the feel of a lighter glass will enhance the sensations of sipping wine.

“The pleasure comes from holding something very light in your hand,” says Maximilian Riedel, CEO of Austrian glassware maker Riedel Crystal, a unit of Tiroler Glashütte GMBH. “The focus then is always on the wine.”

Ultra-thin wine glasses follow a series of design twists manufacturers have rolled out in recent years with hopes of tempting consumers to upgrade their drinkware. Colored goblets, giant bowls, varietal-specific shapes, towering stems and even no stems are among the latest styles to hit shelves.

Riedel (rhymes with “needle”) recently introduced two new “ultrathin” lines of glassware called Superleggero and Veritas that are as much as 30% lighter than its other designs. The lighter weight comes from using glass without lead, changing the design of the base and altering how the bowl and stem are attached.