Myself - Tammy(aka Riedel Stemware Representative) - My big Brother I have been wanting to write about this subject for the longest time. Now that I have a blog this might interest some of my fellow wino's. I have lots and lots of wine glasses in my home. Glasses from wineries that you get after a tasting. Glasses that were given to me as gifts. I use them all the time. When friends come over that love wine or don't love wine. I keep those glasses in a cabinet in my dining room.
But in another "SPECIAL" cabinet I keep my good stemware. This is the only stemware that I bought and paid for myself. What is that stemware! Riedel! I own 6 Bordeaux, 6 pinot, and 6 Chardonnay glasses. Now you might think why own all of these different stemware when you usually taste wines at events from one type and only one type of glass. Well! that all changed after a great seminar that my brother and I got invited too last year.
George Riedel the 10Th generation glass maker from Austria and owner of Riedel put on an event showcasing his Stemware. The catch was tasting 3 wines, a chardonnay, a Cabernet and a Pinot from 5 different vessels. 4 of the glasses were all different sizes with the last glass not being a glass at all but a plastic cup. The 4 glasses represented his signature series for different wines. The first glass made for young White wines, 2ND glass was his standard series that you probably see in every restaurant or wine bar, the 3rd Glass for Burgundy Wines, and his last for Bordeaux style wines.
Mr Riedel walked us threw the tasting starting with the Chardonnay, the Cabernet, and then the Pinot. We were asked not to move ahead and not to dump the wine. Until told!. At first you are wanting to question if this is even true, but as Mr. Riedel began explaining the wines structure in each glass, you really wanted to pay attention. All of the aroma notes and flavor profiles came off exactly like he explained in each glass. The Chardonnay was beautiful in the young white wine stem while there was to much citrus coming off of the wine in the Bordeaux and standard Stems. The Pinot and Cabernet seemed closed up with hardly any aroma notes from the white wine stem. While all of those beautiful flower, earth, chocolate or wood notes come threw in the Pinot and Bordeaux stems. In some cases the wines flavor profiles completely change as the wine will tend to roll into your mouth at different speeds from the different shapes of the glasses. His explanations make you say that without a brilliant Glass there can really be no understanding of the different structures in a wine.
George Riedel made me a believer to the point where I had to own at least a half dozen proper glasses for 3 different grape varietals. I spent some bucks, but it was well worth it.
Oh and what about that plastic cup that he made us drink out of. Well! Lets just say that all wino's should try this sometime. Taste a wine from a proper stem and taste it from a plastic cup.
Where did the wine go?????? I don't Taste anything!!!!!!
Give that I try someday!!!!
Cheers!!!
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