I’m looking for a commercially viable, universal wine glass. Obviously, the Zalto universals are my favorite but a little pricey and risky for commercial settings. The Gabriel glas gold is comparable, but also a little pricey, while the standard series has a stem that may be slightly too chunky for my liking?
Are there any nice commercial options that lean towards being lighter with thin stems? I know Bormioli Roco makes a universal glass called the Inalto uno, but I’m unsure of what else is available.
The machine-made Gabriel Glas universal is well priced and a beautiful piece of stemware. You can ooh and ah about dainty stems, but if we’re talking wine tasting performance and aesthetics, I just don’t see how you can find a better value.
I use these for sparking, red, white, dessert, sake, some spirits…but I will choose a larger glass for Pinot Noir. I love the feel in my hand, nice and thin and I’ve never broken one (unlike Riedel).
Perhaps I will give the machine made Gabriel Glas another try. Next to the gold I have and my Zalto it just didn’t compare, but if it’s a comparable price to some other standard restaurant glasses I’ll give it a go.
For anyone who has purchased commercially (like Riedl,) is the Gabriel Glas standard on par in terms of price at that wholesale level?
The Gabriel Gold is just crazy light which makes it feel a little fragile. As for me lowest possible weight is not what I look for in a wine glass, I would also recommend the machine-made one.
Can someone point me to the machine made Gabriel? Does Chris F sell them?
I have four of the Gabriel Golds I bought from him. It is weird, they are so light that it sort of feels like you’re holding a plastic wine glass, but I’ve gradually stopped finding that so distracting. Yet they’ve been through the dishwasher a bunch of times and seem as sturdy as anything else.
I bought a bunch of Gabriel Golds, as well as Zaltos, from Berserker Chris freemott. While I absolutely LOVE the Zaltos, I find myself reaching for the Gabriels as my go-to universal glass. I really like the way it feels in my hand (very light) and the shape of the glass is gorgeous.
Schott Zwiesel Forte line (either Burgundy or Bordeaux for your one-size-fits-all). They are frequently found on sale or on “flash sale sites” like gilt, etc…
That or the Zalto clones that sometimes pop up at TJMaxx/Homegoods for $6-7 bucks.
i really like nachtmann bordeaux glasses – I believe the vivendi line. I own and like gabriel glasses but find i want something with a little more heft. These nachtmann glasses are pretty darn cheap for the quality.
Depends on your definition of value (i.e., how cheap) ,but I bought an 8 pack of Schott Zwiesel universal glasses at costco not too long ago for a song–something like $8 marked down from their original finely priced $20.
The box says “studio collection,” whatever that means, and it boasts their break-resistant “tritan” glass. I use them all the time without any fancy glass regret.
I have some machine Gabes. I sell those for $22 and the gold for $33 in units of 6 or $38 in fewer quantity, I realize on a % basis that’s a big leap but I find the Gabe as my go to stem.