After having experienced these glasses recently on a visit to Bern’s Steakhouse, I thought I would give them a go for the house. I ordered 6 “Essential” (universal glass) and 6 “The White” (as the name implies) on-line. Like Zalto, not cheap ($50/stem) but these glasses are impressive. Different feel than Zalto although at first glance they look very similar. But in comparing the universal glasses the SW has a lower profile and slightly wider bowl base. The balance is perfect in the hand. The white glass is equally beautiful and balanced.
Customer service was top-notch with updates all along the way, these being shipped directly from Austria via NY. Two big bonuses:
I used the coupon code “Berns” when I ordered and got free shipping.
To my surprise, there was an extra box and a hand written note thanking me for my order and that because they are having a holiday bundle - buy any 6-pack get 2 universal glasses free they gave me 4 free universals…sweet! That brought my per glass cost down to $37.50
I look forward to trying these side-by-side with my Zaltos to see which I prefer.
I just picked up a couple of their Essential and Red Burgundy glasses as well. I prefer the balance and look of their Essential glasses, so got a majority of those. They are also sending me one of their “Machine Mades” they will start selling next year at a lower price. Analysis paralysis on which way to go, but thought is we will have a nice set of Essentials, a couple Red Burgs, and then potentially another set of “Machine Mades” for guests.
Also if you email them, they will let you customize your set. E.G, in your buy 6/ get 2 free, you can email them and say you are on the WB forum and they will let you mix and match your 8 glass set. Top notch customer service.
Just jumped in on the offer after a few busy weeks at the office. Wanted to ask if they ever confirmed your request to customize your set before shipping? I ordered my 6-pack yesterday and I sent them an email to their support team to customize my set minutes after I placed the order. I didn’t receive anything them from them except a UPS confirmation that the item had been shipped this morning.
On the other hand, I’m impressed at how fast their shipping times are - I got the free shipping and it’ll be here in 2 days from Austria - I guess they are trying to meet Christmas deadlines.
Got it. Thanks. I had initially ordered a pk of Reds (because fellow Berserker Chris liked them more than the Zalto, and I thought it would be nice for Grenache/Rhone blends, where I want a little more area, but not to the point of the Zalto Burgundy), but I wanted to swap out 2 of them for Essential glasses so I could make 2 sets of 4pks.
Seems like I should have emailed them directly instead of going through the order form on the website. I guess I’ll have to wait to find out if they got my email to customize by order before shipping it out this morning.
WOW. Even though I am not associated with Sophienwald in any way, I really want to give them a shout-out, as I am blown away by their customer service. I just received an email from Simon, saying that he got my email in time and was able to get everything sorted out with my custom order. His response was indeed comprehensive, and really made me feel like a valued customer. In fact, he even upgraded me to UPS Express (which explains the shipping times), which I am super grateful for!
Honestly speaking, I think I may just have to switch all my glasses over to Sophienwald after this, as I am honored to do business with a company like theirs. I wanted to point out again that a couple weeks back, there was an brief exchange on another thread (perfect red wine glass) between Ginger at Sophienwald with Emily at Zalto, where Emily seemed to “attack” the Sophienwald brand over stolen prototypes of glasses, including mentioning a lawsuit in Austria. I had originally mentioned that regardless of the “facts”, the glasses are still different in look and feel, and ultimately it’s still a matter of personal preference, but I wanted to add that Ginger’s response was so polite, even signing her message with a ‘Happy Holidays’, reminding me that they really do care about us as customers, and re-emphasizing that they are a company I want to continue doing business with.
Long story short, I am super excited receive my Sophienwald glasses and I can’t wait to buy more to support them on Berserker Day next year!
So I did a few comparisons between the Zalto Universal and Sophienwald Essential trying a CNdP and a Rioja as those are wines for which I consistently use my Universals. I have to say I really prefer the Sophienwald. Granted it may be the ‘something new and shiny’ effect but I find the SW better balanced and nicer hand feel. It maximizes the sensory aspects a bit more than the Zalto but I am probably nit-picking. Have not done a comparison of the white wine glasses yet. Between the free shipping and bonus glasses it was a no-brainer. And yes, the customer service was outstanding.