Must have to appreciate wine to the fullest
Written: Nov 18 '02 (Updated Nov 20 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Even mediocre Wine will taste good
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: Must have if you are into wine
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| geek4670's Full Review: Riedel Crystal Chardonnay Wine Glasses, Set of 6 W... |
About 6 years ago the spouse and I went to a local winery for a tasting class with Riedel crystal as the sponsor. Since then I will drink wine from nothing but!
We drink a lot of wine and mostly wine from Washington State. We drink probably three to four bottles a week and it is a joint hobby between the spouse and I.
When we were at the tasting they had four glasses in front of us and also a generic White and Red glass. Not crystal mind you just some machine blown glass.
The four glasses they had in Riedel were the Burgundy / Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot. Each has a special shape and a different size. Me and the spouse were more than skeptical and saw this as a sales pitch! We got to keep the four glasses we were using and we knew it but we had no idea what we were in for.
They started with the Chardonnay in the White wine "generic" glass. It was OK but not a great chardonnay. Color and all was good. Then they poured into the Riedel Chardonnay glass, spectacular color difference. Now here is where it gets interesting and this is not hogwash. (Remember I was skeptical) Just the smell of the wine in the Riedel smelled like a reserve wine. It really came to life. And the taste difference was nothing short of amazing! Like I said this was just an OK wine. But in the Riedel it was at least 5 times better. Also the fragrance was much more profound.
Now here is the really cool part! They poured some more of that very same wine in to the Sauvignon Blanc glass and it was a new wine. I actually thought it was better but my wife did not. Remember this shape thing the SV glass was smaller and had a tighter rim at the top so it even smelled different. But yes it really did taste different.
Each varietal of wine has a special shaped glass and they say they arrive at the final shape through testing trying to bring out the best of that Varietal. Both smell and taste.
Riedel glasses do not have a rim around the top. The reason they say that the glasses don’t is because the rim acts like a damn and causes the wine to splash over the rim causing the wine to hit the wrong part of the tongue. They also say that is the reason that it is often considered bitter by most palettes.
Riedel makes several lines of crystal and I was first introduced to the Vinum series which is machine made 24% lead crystal. The sommelier series is hand blown 24% lead crystal and I can’t tell the difference but now we own both.
I have never tried anything but these two lines as they now have less pricey lines like the extreme and wine series. So I can’t comment on either.
One of the rituals at are house is showing people the difference in the glasses and they always leave saying they are buying some new crystal.
It is amazing and you have to smell and taste it to believe it.
If you are a casual wine drinker or a serious hobbyist you need to check these glasses out.
BTW the scotch glass is also out of this world and makes a 30 year single malt taste like heaven.
Also most of the good wineries will use these glasses for tasting their reserve wine. So if you have a winery close ask them if they have any and if you can perform the test.
Cleaning these glasses can be done in the dishwasher but Riedel even says it can change the taste of the wine. We have one glass we keep putting in the dishwasher and it does seem to be picking up some soap smell. Leaded crystal is very pourus.
All of the chardonnay glasses are sturdy enough. However the bigger glasses like the burgundy glass where the bowl is so huge are less sturdy. We have broken a few of these but still have all the chardonnay glasses. Remember to handle the glass by the stem and all will be well.
Some will say that the shape does not make a difference. For me it is very profound but my palette is very sensitive and I once did a blind tasting and memorized 70 out of 80 different wines by taste. So I encourage you to give it your own test and see what you think.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
geek4670
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Member: Joe Eldridge
Location: Bothell, Wa
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
Love my Kid's! Love my tools!
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