The Magic of the Glass

George Riedel, the director and 10th generation family member of the Reidel Wine Glass Company, travels the world to lead incredible seminars on wine and the importance of glassware.  For me, this was an eye opening experience! I know that drinking wine out of a crystal glass can make a big difference in the aromas that wine delivers but I didn’t expect the wine to taste and feel so completely different depending on the glass that was used. This seminar revealed a whole new experience in drinking wine. By drinking from varietal specific glasses, not only did the bouquet of the wine change but the texture, tannins, and acidity of the wine were changed as well. These changes reflected what Mr. Riedel calls the “emotion of the wine”. When drinking wine from the right glass the wine actually tastes better and allows the taster to experience the full range of details in the wine.

We each had an empty glass made for Pinot Noir, for Syrah and for Cabernet. There were also three plastic cups filled with a Pinot Noir, a Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon; a glass bottle of water, and a piece of chocolate. Mr. Riedel had us taste the water first out of the bottle then pouring some water into each of the varietal glasses. There was a significant difference in the way the water felt in my mouth with each type of glass. I found the water in the cabernet glass had the softest, most satisfying feel compared to the Pinot or Syrah glass. Most of the other seminar attendees preferred the water out of the cabernet glass also.

Mr. Riedel explained that the shape and height of the bowl and diameter of the rim of a glass controls the flow of delivery to a specific area of the mouth. The smaller the rim diameter the faster the wine is delivered to the back of the mouth. The design and function of Riedel glasses are meant to deliver each grape varietal to a specific region of the mouth to bring out the nuances and details in the bouquet and flavor of the wine. To get a visual example of this Mr. Riedel had us tilt our glass of wine so that the wine flowed almost to the rim. The flow of wine in the Pinot glass had a pointed shape when it got to the rim, the flow in the Syrah glass was more round, and in the Cabernet glass very round and broad.

Upon comparing the Pinot Noir in each glass I found that the bouquet showed a complete profile with delicate aromas of cherry, raspberries and secondary pinewood. On the palate, the wine was silky with the fruit shining. The Pinot in the Syrah glass showed more mature fruit and plum fruits, but lacked the high tones of cherry and raspberries. In the Cabernet glass the pinot had almost no bouquet, and on the palate it lost most of its fruit characteristics entirely, causing the acids to become the wines most noticeable aspect.

Next we poured the Syrah into all three glasses. In the pinot glass, the finish of the Syrah just fell off completely, and in the Cabernet glass, the Syrah showed prominent green pepper qualities and more mineral than fruit. In the Syrah-specific glass the wine was classic complete and balanced, delivering fruit of cassis, dark berries, pepper and leather on the nose and in the mouth with a very lengthy finish.

Finishing with the Cabernet was one of the most dramatic examples. The Cabernet in the Pinot glass was nothing but tannins; in the Syrah glass the fruit became more concentrated yet still the tannins predominated without much detail on the nose or mouth; in the Cabernet glass, the tannins were soft and filled the entire mouth with a nuanced full spectrum of chocolate, dark fruit aroma and flavor. A truly fabulous cabernet experience! If I hadn’t poured the wines myself, I would have thought I had three completely different wines.

I have to say I am a convert! I had my husband Normando do his own test with my three glasses and a $10 bottle of pinot that he had purchased. He was blown away; the $10 wine in the Pinot-specific glass became a silk purse tasting more like a $20 bottle, and he enjoyed it much more than he had been in our everyday glasses.

So, how many glasses does one need? Mr. Riedel believes at least a Pinot, Syrah, and a Cabernet glass. But if you can’t have all three, the Syrah glass is what he calls the best “compromise” glass.  Does it warrant spending the $50 to $100 dollars on a set of glasses to get the most value out of your wine? I believe so, if your spending $10-$20 on a bottle and you’re only getting half of the value out of it then you are wasting $5-$10 per bottle. Add that up and that initial outlay is made up in no time. So you might consider at least investing in two glasses and do your own test.

-Posted by Genevieve Daly, Santa Clara