Are we done paying more ...

[Houndsong]

... for a cork-puller than for most bottles it will ever open? http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/ar ... licate_it/.

Cue Pete Seeger: "Where has all the money gone, long time passing ..."

[DavidG]

Great article about obsessing too much. Only part I disagree with somewhat is the wine glass. You don't need a different glass for every varietal as Riedel would like you to think, but having a decent sized/shaped bowl can definitely make a difference.

[PappaDoc]

I was in a discount store the other day and saw a screw pull that was made of steel for $5.99. The plastic ones usually are about $20 and break. I also bought knockoff "Rabbits" at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $9.99 from the Wine Enthusiast. It's a four peice set that has the Rabbit, a foil cutter, a worm, and a replacement worm. It's made in China, the original Rabbit is made in Germany and sells for as much as $100.00. The $9.99 version works just as well.

[Tom In DC]

What David said...a good wine glass delivers a better tasting experience than that tumbler in the Italian trattoria (unless you want to hide how the wine tastes, in which case the tumbler is fine!)

I am convinced that most winery owners never pour their own wine, or they would try harder to choose bottles that don't dribble wine all over the effing place. And the fancier the bottle (heavy glass, distinctive-to-bizarre shape, whatever), the more likely it seems to want to stain your tablecloth. The Drop Stop -- a simple Mylar disk rolled up an inserted in the bottle opening -- is one accessory worth every penny! (http://www.schurinventure.com/skabelone ... 4&mpid=176)

[dstgolf]

David I agree and disagree. Yes a quality glass makes a differance Riedl or other. Certainly if you only have a Bordeaux and white wine glass you'll never know and the wine will taste as it is. I'm convinced after many taste trials that Sauvignon Blanc tastes better in the glass designed for it and is not nearly as good when you drink out of a chardonnay glass and vice versa let alone a Bordeaux glass or tumbler in Italian restaurant.. Tried this many times and has never failed once. Definitely a red wine in one of these glasses is diminished. Pinot Noir in a Bordeaux glass isn't even close to the same experience as in it's own glass. Probably the biggest differance is sauterne/icewine glass. Try it in the dedicated Reidl and you won't go back(maybe Rick can comment seeing he drinks sauterne with everything it seems). Now after saying all of that there are some like the shiraz glass that I can't see any noticeable differance. I thought the Sommelier Reidls were a joke as far as cost and personally I don't have them. No question for aged Bordeaux side by side with the vinums there is a striking differance for the better in the Sommelier. I had to draw the line at practicality both from shear numbers of glasses on hand as well cost.

Now those little discs are great and work, saving many a tablecloth and lecture from my wife. The only problem is you have to remember to use them let alone find them when you need them!

Danny

[JimHow]

I think Rick has indeed commented on the merits of the Riedel Sauternes glass, Danny, and I think he concurs with you.

[DavidG]

Danny, I suspect we agree more than disagree with respect to wine glasses. There are some significantly different bowl shapes that do make a big difference from one wine type to another, but again not as much as the folks that sell them would have you think. And yes the Bdx Sommelier is better for some wines than the Bdx Vinum - but if a wine is a bit alcoholic or too hot the Vinum is better. At that level the difference is small compared to the difference between a Vinum and a crummy little glass or a jelly jar... it becomes a point of diminishing returns - but if you're into it a good glass will give you a lot better return on your investment than any fancy corkscrew or chiller.

And I'll add a second thumbs up for the mylar drip-stop disks.

[Rick]

Danny
You are right about Sauternes......I say, has much $$ as most people on this site spend on wine they are just flat nuts not to have Sommelier glasses for sauternes...........There is absolutely no comparison between using the proper Sauterne glass and using just any old crystal dessert glass

We recently went and bought more so we now have 7 ( broke one ) and take them with us when we drink sauternes. I now need more carrying cases

David is correct ( like I know what I am talking about) when he speaks of the Sommelier bordeaux glass being better than Vinum for some types of reds than others

I have also on multiple occassions pulled out lots of glasses and tried Zin, bordeaux, Syrah,chard etc in the proper glass , per the Riedel chart, and another nice Vinum glass. I have always come away knowing the wine is better in the "proper" glass. Once I was blown away when I found I had mistakenly thought Zin was to drink in a bordeaux glass but when i put it in a Chianti glass and it was so much better did I realize that is the glass it belongs in


We spent to much time researching and finding the best values and the best wines to drink day in and day out not to have a few hundred dollars invested in the proper glasses - makes no sense to me to cut corners on glasses
Wash them the next day and you will rarely break any

I take my glasses with me if I am drinking expensive wines or I know good glasses will not be available

Rick

[DavidG]

Well now you're going to get me in trouble Rick. I've used the Zin/Chianti glasses for Burgs and Chards and Sauternes and found them to be fine, but after reading that I think I may have to plunk down for some Sauternes glasses. Don't tell Peggy...

[rjsussex]

I'm down to 3 regular Vinums. Bordeaux for most claret, Pinot for all burgundy, Chianti for basic claret (which can be soapy and diffuse in Vinum Bordeaux: Chianti crisps it up) and everything else.

Richard

[PappaDoc]

I've got two six packs of Spieglau, one Burgundy and one Bordeaux, one four pack of Riedel "Overture" Magnums (18 5/8th oz-short stems good for crowded tables), one Riedel "Tasting Set" Vinum ( one glass each of Bordeaux, Burgundy/Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Montrachet/Chardonnay) and a set of Micasa Champagne Flutes. Jackdaw had give me a set of expensive Riedels and they all broke too soon. I'd never buy them after breaking one bowl by gently hand washing and another by shaking water out of the glass, the stem just snapped.

Dale Williams has an interesting White wine glass that sort of has a diamond shape, it does concentrate aromas well. This thread has me thinking I might invest in one of the Sommelier Sauternes glasses that Rick recommends. I'd guess it would work well for German BAs, TBAs, and Tokay 4-6 Puttonyos, etc. Sounds right to me.

[aimeedogdogdog]

I haven't tried all different types of wine glasses for different wines. However, I did notice the difference using Reidel bordeaux glass for Bordeaux better than for Burgundy, while Reidel burgundy glass for Burgundy better than for Bordeaux.

Did I read it right folks here suggest Chianti glasses for Bordeaux?

Werner

[DavidG]

No Chianti glasses for Bordeaux for me. The Chianti glasses from Riedel are good for most whites, Sauternes, Zins, Ports, and other high alcohol wines where a really big bowl seems to accentuate the alcohol.

[Rick]

David
I will need to try out using Chianti glass for hi alcohol wines - i have never experimented in that way

PappaDoc - i have never experimented with the Sauterne glasses but I would guess it would work well for other dessert type wines.........hopefully I will see you post on it someday

rick

[Blanquito]

Can someone comment on why the Vinum and Sommelier glasses are different shapes? I love Reidel, but if the glasses are scientifically shaped to maximize a varietal, why are the two series so differently shaped for the same grape? Glass weight and thickness?

[DavidG]

Becasue the shape makes a difference only up to a point, and beyond that it is due to variability in human response and marketing hype and variability from wine to wine and bottle to bottle.

I used to have copies of some of the Riedel literature about how the glass directs the wine to a certain portion of the tongue, and there were internal inconsistencies. They seem to have stopped stressing that - no real scientific basis for it - but they still have way more glass types than are actually needed. I'm not saying it's all baloney - shape and size can make a huge difference - but some of the subtle differences they are selling are just BS.

To take it even further: Not only is every human's response different - so no one glass is perfect for every person, but every wine is different. Not every Grand Cru Burg is the same. Not every DRC RC is the same - they vary from year to year. And then there is bottle variation. I think we might need a different glass for every wine. No, wait, wines develop with air after they are opened. We need multiple glasses for each bottle...

All I'm saying is there is a point beyond which this becomes silly. Try a few different shapes and sizes and see what you like, but don't caught up in the hype that a tiny difference in glass size or shape is going to transform your wine tasting experience to an otherworldly orgasmic plane. More likely the wine or your mood or the setting is likely to do that.

[Blanquito]

I agree with your points, David. I noticed they no longer talk about directing the wine to a certain portion of the tongue (as if no one swishes their gulp of wine throughout their mouth!), but they still claim the shape and size of the glass is designed to maximize the potential of a given varietal (a claim which seems plausible for the bouquet). So making two shapes for the same varietal (and the Vinum and Sommelier are often very different in shape and especially size) really undercuts their claim.

Not that I make a big fuss about glasses (though I do love my Sommelier Bordeaux glasses), but such a contradiction makes their marketing claims silly in my book.