George Riedel
In 1993, I was facilitating a wine seminar in Sweden and the wine glasses we were using were Riedel of Austria. I had used Riedel before but didn't own any as they weren't as easy to find in the US back then. So...I carried a gazillion, expensive and extremely breakable Riedel glasses back from Sweden to the United States...Umm...buying wine glasses in Sweden that were made in Austria and bringing them back to America. Obviously, I wanted those glasses!
Why? Because they are amazing!
A couple of days ago, George Riedel--10th generation glass producer, was in town providing a glass seminar to members of the wine trade (Courtesy of Wine Warehouse) at the Sheraton in Sacramento. His opening comment was:
"I'm here to make your wine life difficult"
In other words, no longer will you be able to use a common glass for your wine (my translation.) And, suffice it to say, he's right!
We tasted four wines using five different wine glasses, four with incredibly unique shapes to best extol particular varietals and one, the "Ouverture" which all though not the best for any particular wine, works better than the norm for most.
We began the seminar by smelling through the wines. Then, we took the first wine, an aromatic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the correct varietal glass and tasted it. Fresh, fruity with racing acidity, everything one would expect in a good NZ SB. Next, we poured the wine into the Overture. Still a good wine but lacking in some of the freshness and fruitiness. We proceeded to taste and pour each varietal from glass to glass and the results were quite interesting. Each varietal correct wine glass either highlights or deemphasizes some aspect of the wine to achieve the best flavor attainable. For example, to prove his point about each glass being varietal correct, Mr. Riedel had us pour the Pinot Noir into the Chardonnay glass. Previously, we had tasted the Pinot Noir, a Domaine Drouhin from Oregon, in the correct glass and knew it to be a very good wine. Upon tasting it in the Chardonnay glass, this great tasting Pinot Noir (one of my favorite Oregon Pinots) was fruitless and bitter tasting. Proof positive that a varietal correct wine glass enhances the taste of the wine.
Bring on the Riedel!