Wine glasses?

Before having had some direct experience, I'd have believed as you. _Many_ years ago I was given Riedel Vinum Bordeaux and Zinfandel/Chianti glasses. I thought it was all pretty silly except for the fact that, even with my limited palate, there was absolutely no question that there were differences, both in the nose _and_ taste. [It was this taste difference that _really_ surprised me.] But the "best" glass depended on the wine. Some Bordeaux were "better" in the Zin/Chianti glasses, for example, and sometimes we disagreed on which was "better" for the wine. [We _did_ have our own tastes. :-) ] And, as it turned out, we tended to prefer Sauternes in my _old_ glasses.

On the other hand, we could hardly tell the difference (visually) between the Bordeaux and the Brunello glasses, for example, unless they were sitting side by side, and we sure couldn't tell any differences with the wines. They seemed to work equally well. [Which would make some sense, since they looked _so_ much alike.]

So to some extent, I'd have to defend the notion that different shaped wine glasses will work better for different wines, _including_ taste. I'd just probably not go to _quite_ the extremes that Riedel does. Let's face it. If the shape of the glass didn't really make much difference, we could be happy drinking fine wine out of water glasses. :-)

Regards,

- Roy

=*=*Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain The truth is rarely pure, and never simple. - Oscar Wilde

Salut/Hi Eric lee,

le/on Tue, 13 Jan 2004 23:39:07 +0800, tu disais/you said:-

For all wine tasting, I use the INAO tasting glass, which is about the shape and size of a sherry copita.

I use the same glass for pre-prandials of normal quality - if wine based. For ordinary champagnes I use some old champagne flutes I've had since we were married.

For lesser whites I use the Berry Bros white wine glasses, which I also use for better champagnes. For big whites and most reds I use the Berry Bros red wine glasses.

I've also got 2 Vinum (or is it the Sommelier? it's the VERY big ones holding about a litre) Riedels bought from the factory as seconds in both Bordeaux (whatever they call it) and Burgundy (again, whetever they call it) shapes. I've also got 4 of their Sauternes glasses in the same range.

I use these only for top wines, as they are too good at showing up faults. As far as I'm concerned, when drinking for pleasure I want a glass that _flatters_ a wine, not necessarily one to analyse.

I'll answer the how and why of Riedel later in this thread.

I've heard enough testimonials from people I respect, and done enough informal experimentation on my own, to believe the arguments re shape of glass. That being said, I can't afford (or have room in my house!) for separate glasses for every shape.

So what we use: There's some inexpensive generic (non-crystal) wine glasses that are handy for having a glass of whatever's opened while cooking. We have some crystal white glasses whose maker I forget that I use for most whites. We have Spiegelau Bdx stems (mixed vino Grande and Authentis) that I use for Bdx and Bdx varietals and Syrahs We have Spiegelau Burg stems (vino Grande and Authentis) that I use for Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, and big whites (white Burgundies, etc.) Riedel Vintage Champagne flutes (though I only have 6 of these, use some other flutes for parties)

There are backups of the Speigelaus in basement for big parties. And there are some other no-name crystal balloons I use for more backup (if there's a real wine dinner where I'm giving a lot of people multiple wine glasses).

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

My C$.02;

14oz. relatively inexpensive crystal Bordeaux glasses for Bordeaux and all white wines. 24oz. of the same crystal balloon types for lighter reds.... PN, Gamay and sometimes even Rose.

We use INAO (ISO) tasting glasses for everyday drinking. For special wines, we have Riedel Vinum Bordeaux and Zinfandel glasses and Spiegelau Authentis Burgundy glasses.

Mark Lipton

_Big_time ir> I've heard enough testimonials from people I respect, and done enough informal

I've had some very nice friends. :-) Consequently I've got _lots_ of Riedel glasses. (All Vinum.) These include the Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chianti/Zin, Syrah, Brunello, Chardonnay, Rheingau, Champagne, and Port. That being said, I rarely use any but the Bordeaux and Chianti/Zin glasses. My wine imbibing does a _reasonable_ job of covering the geographical and varietal spectrum. (Sure, I've got some blind spots.) But I find it's generally just not worth breaking out the "correct" glass all the time. (Well, OK, I _do_ use the Champagne and Port glasses where appropriate.) Interestingly, the Burgundy glasses, which have a _definitively_ different shape, _for me_, don't noticeably improve Pinot Noirs (of which we have a few here in Oregon). And the others don't make enough difference (to me) to be worth the added hassle. (Though they _are_ good for impressing the "winners" of donated charity dinners.)

Regards,

- Roy

=*=*Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain The truth is rarely pure, and never simple. - Oscar Wilde

Just had an experience this last weekend that shocked my socks off. Particularly in regards my statement above about the Brunello and Bordeaux glasses. I mentioned that unless you have them side-by-side, it's 'bout impossible to tell them apart. This past weekend I opened a bottle of '96 Liparita Cab with a friend. I remarked that I found the nose a bit "green" and "weedy". They thought it was "just fine". I assumed they just liked that sort of thing. After about an hour or so, I found the nose getting definitely unpleasant and they found it still "lovely", so I reached over to try their glass. The nose _was_ "OK". Then I noticed that their glass was fractionally shorter and marginally "rounder" than mine. I'd gotten my glasses mixed up and mixed a Brunello glass in amongst my Bordeaux glasses!

So, while I can honestly say I've never noticed a difference in how a _Brunello_ smells/tastes in the Brunello vs. the Bordeaux glasses, I can no longer say there is no difference, period. There was no doubt that there was a difference in the nose. It was unmistakeable. (We further tested this by pouring my glass into a Brunello glass. Green, weedy character in the Bordeaux glass went away in the Brunello glass.) [I do not report on any difference in taste here, because by the time I got around to tasting, I'd already discovered the difference in glasses and could no longer be considered an unbiased reporter.]

Anyway, just thought I'd share what to me was a remarkable experience. And, after a fashion, calls into question the "perfectness" of any given glass. Seems that there may be a "best" glass to show a wine, but it might well not be the one "designed" for that wine. Furthermore, even with (minor) differences in bowl shapes between Riedel, Spiegelau, or Cost Plus, who's to say that one is "better"?

Enjoy the ride.

Regards,

- Roy

=*=*Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain

The truth is rarely pure, and never simple. - Oscar Wilde