Wine Glasses...You all have never failed me in the past

[cfacink]

I am down to my last Spiegelau burgandy glass started with 6...and am looking for a good red wine glass. Spiegelau? Schott Zwiesel? Riedel? Sounds kinda like Campagnolo, Shimano, Sram....also make sure to include the shape if you have a preference. Let the OPINION's begin.... Thanks friends

[godfrey1112000]

I am down to my last Spiegelau burgandy glass started with 6...and am looking for a good red wine glass. Spiegelau? Schott Zwiesel? Riedel? Sounds kinda like Campagnolo, Shimano, Sram....also make sure to include the shape if you have a preference. Let the OPINION's begin.... Thanks friends

Raid the drawer full of Bed Bath And Beyond coupons and go buy a few Riedel, 20% off, they are the quality you are used to with Spiegelau,
I have the Riedel stems, special dinners and wines and the "O" stemless for more everyday use

I think it is against the law to buy anything at BBB without a coupon, you can use 5 at a time for five Items :beer:

[Dromen]

Riedel guy here. Like vinum for value. Just get burgundy bowl and buy extra if good deal. Stemmed wine glasses are fragile, frequent breakage is their life cycle no matter brand. If to don't mind ” bowl holding ” try O series(my everyday glass), as most breakage I have found happens during drying/buffing.

Drying/buffing - most people do it wrong. Research correct way and your glass mortality rate will improve.

[ORMojo]

Specifically for Pinots and other big reds, these are fantastic glasses, and, yes, developed right here in Oregon.
Riedel Vinum XL Oregon Pinot Noir
http://www.klwines.com/images/skus/1040757x.jpg
http://glassware.riedel.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/6/4/6416_67.jpg
On sale here: http://www.winestuff.com/riedel-vinum-oregon-pinot-noir-wine-glasses.html

[crownjewelwl]

Riedel 20% off at bbby is no brainer

Buy the 8 pack...they also sell singles for when you inevitably break one after a couple or 3 glasses

[rockdude]

Riedel for me....

Good wine needs good glasses like a good frame needs good wheels.

[godfrey1112000]

Riedel 20% off at bbby is no brainer

Buy the 8 pack...they also sell singles for when you inevitably break one after a couple or 3 glasses

+1, especially after the second bottle :banana:

[regularguy412]

I'll pile on to the Riedel bandwagon. Great glasses. I have the Vinum and the Big Reds.

Mike in AR:beer:

[SamIAm]

I am going to second/third/fourth whatever the Riedel recommendation. I would go with the Riedel Vinum series and get the Bordeaux glass for all around drinking.

You might check out the Riedel Vinum XL Syrah glass. It's a fine glass for all around drinking, pay no attention to the Syrah designation. The reason to look for it in particular is the fact that its not selling (probably because of the Syrah designation) and can be picked up for less than half the price of the other varietal specific offerings.

[jemoryl]

Just a couple of other suggestions:
If you have a Crate & Barrel around, go have a look at their glasses. A niceley shaped range, from decent cheapies to delicate hand blown (most from Czech/Slovakia/Poland). Also, if you are tired of breakage, have a look at the Schott Zweisel Tritan glasses: these are a lot tougher than the usual stuff.

[Nooch]

I got the Riedel 8 pack at BBB as well... Fantastic glasses, impressed recent house guests that we had such nice stuff :)

[jonnyBgood]

I'm amazed at how many times we have used the Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons.

Every time they come in the mail I say "Another one" and my wife says "Yeah but we use them pretty much every time". Me "Oh" :)

[rccardr]

I find the Spiegelau and Reidel products to be very comparable in terms of drinking satisfaction, but for some reason the Spiegelaus seem to last longer.

Have primarily broken stems & not bowls with Reidels, but the Spiegelaus don't seem as fragile in that area. Eventually, though, they all break.

[thinpin]

Reidel, like goretex, is a marketing triumph. We had a little test here not to long ago. Reidel, speiglau, zweiss and some no name brand. A mixture of pinot, shiraz and bordeaux style stems across all brands.
We all tested all the glasses blind. Working from a pinot, then cabernet followed by shiraz wines in each style and model of glass.
The bottom line was the speiglau grand gru (bordeaux) stem was the preferred glass across the board for shiraz and cabernets. Speiglau is owned by riedel.
Pinot was best (both nose and taste) from a reidel pinot glass. I suspect some bias here as the glass feels unique (balance and heft).
Of course these things are all subjective.

[ORMojo]

Here is an interesting take on the design of the Riedel Oregon Pinot Glass.

"The flared top requires that you tilt either the glass or your head to such a position that the wine hits the back of the palate first. The wide rim also sends the wine cascading down the sides of your tongue. The result is an enhanced fruit impression and much less emphasis on structure. The wines simply taste more open-knit and fruit-forward.

The tried-and-true Riedel Burgundy stem, by contrast, forces the taster to nearly pucker up to receive the wine, and directs the wine onto the front of the tongue and straight down the middle. The tongue ends up cupping the wine. This clearly puts an emphasis on darker fruit flavors and enhances the impact of any tannins."

Another bit of trivia . . .
" Its a solid 25 ounces, and will hold a full bottle of wine if you fill it to the brim." :hello:

[goonster]

Real Riedels are not made in Germany.

Just saying . . .

/austrosnob

[Dromen]

Oregon PN stems are LARGE. Always look empty to me and difficult to store unless you put them with the vases. Or drink from vases.

[tiretrax]

Any of those you mention are fine. The only glasses I have had for a long time are balloon glasses from Crate and Barrel that my mother gave me 25 years ago! I think I could drop them on a marble floor, and they wouldn't break. I'd check internet prices, too. Wine glasses have become another commodity, so go with the least expensive price.

[jemoryl]

Another bit of trivia . . .
" Its a solid 25 ounces, and will hold a full bottle of wine if you fill it to the brim." :hello:

Just came from dinner at a Portuguese place in Newark where the standard operating procedure is to fill the glasses to the brim. Must convince them to get some of these Riedels....

[LouDeeter]

http://www.riedel.com/

I recommend you first go to the Riedel website to do a little research. They have a great deal of information, plus you can see the different models they offer. Size and shape do matter.

[thinpin]

With all due respect Lou going to the riedel site to do research will prove a very bias exercise. To use the Gor-tex analogy again - going to their site to research waterproof breathable outdoor gear will not educate you on the benefits of Lowe Alpine's wonderful triple point ceramic fabric.
Riedel make superb glasses but they are not the be all end all in wine glasses. They certainly know how to market their product though.
Try here (http://wine-tasting-reviews.com/wine-basics-drinking-buying/wine-glasses/10-picking-the-best-wine-glasses-for-drinking-wine.html) for a more balanced view.

[jemoryl]

With all due respect Lou going to the riedel site to do research will prove a very bias exercise. To use the Gor-tex analogy again - going to their site to research waterproof breathable outdoor gear will not educate you on the benefits of Lowe Alpine's wonderful triple point ceramic fabric.
Riedel make superb glasses but they are not the be all end all in wine glasses. They certainly know how to market their product though.
Try here (http://wine-tasting-reviews.com/wine-basics-drinking-buying/wine-glasses/10-picking-the-best-wine-glasses-for-drinking-wine.html) for a more balanced view.

Agreed. In fact some of the claims made by Riedel need to be called out for being BS. For instance the ideal that the shape of their glasses can channel things to certain places. Puts a smudge on a company that otherwise makes a superb product.

[MattTuck]

Not sure what you are looking for, in terms of look/feel. I tend to be less than excited by Reidel and other machine finished glasses. Not because they are bad products, just because I think their marketing is B.S., and I don't think their products are that much more interesting than stuff you can get for a lot cheaper.

If you are a hand-built, buy American, like the heritage of a product, etc. kind of person, you may consider Simon Pearce glasses.

They are all made by hand, no machine cuts like Reidel has... They are super sturdy construction... you can hit two glasses together. Don't try that with Reidel. They are very functional. Very durable. Made by American crafts people.

http://www.simonpearce.com/category/about+us/the+story.do Watch the #4 video, "History" it shows him hitting them.

You will pay for the quality. But if those things are important to you, it may be a good brand to look at. This stuff is not delicate...

[Louis]

If you are a hand-built, buy American, like the heritage of a product, etc. kind of person, you may consider Simon Pearce glasses.

+1

Way more practical than Reidel, and made in VT and MD.

[LouDeeter]

Real Riedels are not made in Germany.

Just saying . . .

/austrosnob

The Riedel Vinum series, possibly others, is made in Bavaria. You can visit crystal factories in NE Bavaria where you can also buy seconds for incredibly low prices.


As far as not using the Riedel website, I can't imagine getting a full review of the different wine glass models/series that are available from Riedel without visiting their site. A lot of people here recommended Riedel Vinum. There are other series available but I agree that seems to be the most popular. Unless you really, really want to take your bank account in hand and drink from the uber expensive glasses, I also would recommend Riedel Vinum with the Cabernet glass being a good general glass to own for red wines. If you like Burgundy and Pinot and entertain folks who care, you might buy a few Burgundy glasses. I use smaller Chardonnay glasses for whites and dessert wines. So, just my opinion, but you can own three different wine glass shapes and cover the majority of wines reasonably well.

[pdmtong]

If you want a basic glass, go below the reidel vinum series to their "wine" series. These things are bomb proof, inexpensive, and go in the dishwasher with no cares.

I also have the reidel port and single malt glasses. They work well and add to the experience

[jemoryl]

Those Simon Pierce glasses are sweet, but way out of my price range. For some more affordable handblown go see what they have at Crate & Barrel - their top of the range Czech handblowns are pretty nice for around $12 per.

[d_douglas]

I have adopted the Spanish tapas bar habit of drinking wine out of a stubby flat juice glass. I went so far as to buy cheap little Spanish juice glasses in support of this aim.

That said, I rarely drink wine and know nothing about it. I drink what's in front of me (apparently in the wrong type o glass ;)

[MattTuck]

I should add that some people are are influenced by context. My dad will watch a new movie, and if he is in a bad mood or hungry, will invariably say the movie was no good.

I would expect that if you did an experiment with two groups of people, with the same wine, and told them that the glass they were drinking from was either bought at costco or carefully handblown with special silica from a specific site in a pure silica mine, and cost big money... that the wine would taste better to those with the hyped wine glasses.

If you can feel good about the experience of drinking a glass of wine, I think that is what is important.