Jay - let’s do a podcast on the topic (same wine across glasses)
-Chris
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I did something similar a while ago. Not fully blind, but I poured a few different types of wine across various glasses. All I can say, is a hot (HOT!) Paso Robles GSM in a champagne flute did not work 
Neither did champagne from an old fashioned glass.
Over Thanksgiving I tried a robust Chianti in the Grassl Cru and it was a huge mistake. But when I switched to Burgundy it was a match made in heaven. 
I do this all the time. It’s pretty routine for me that a bottle will get tasted out of (at least) 3-4 different geometries/manufacturers when I’m at home by myself.
For my tastes, palate preferences, I don’t think conventional suggestions for Rhone or Rioja work as well as intended. For example an older grenache heavy aromatic CNDP often shows best out of big Burgundy bowls. But a young syrah laden Crozes might be better in Chianti/Zinfandel glasses, not even blooming in Syrah/Shirazz dedicated crystal.
Chateau Musar crosses my lips more rarely now - perhaps once a year - but I think that is the hardest wine to pair with crystal. One never really knows what is going to show up!
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A bit of a curio in that it was 1995 neck label, but 1992 cork - and wine, I’m certain.
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If you can find Kimura glasses, they have the best size and height imo. https://kimuraglass.com/collections/red-wine-glass/products/bach-25oz-bourgogne-glass
Grassl CRU, and Sensory would be my other favorites.
Unfortunately , the Sensory glass is the best wine glass I’ve come across and I’ve tested them all. And I agree it’s just a tad wide but the balance is perfection and the tulip top seems to make a huge difference over most glasses that lack this.
The Glasvin Prestige - to me - is the closest I’ve found and it’s fantastic. A bit taller so the balance isn’t as perfect but the bowl is narrower and feels less bulbous.
It’s the glass I reach for almost always.
Still fond of the Conterno glass but I’ve now had them for a year and only 2 of the original 4 survived - and not even everyday use either as I wasn’t using them for much beyond Burgundy. The price was already pushing it. With this sort of survival rate it simply won’t do. I’m with WK in thinking the ideal substitute should be smaller instead of bigger. I’m sure something similar will come along eventually, it always does.
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Gifted Conterno Sensory glasses for Christmas. For many years my go to glasses have been Zalto Universal for whites, Riedel Vinum Extreme Cabernet for most full or medium body reds and Riedel Vinum Extreme Pinot Noir glasses for all pinots, barolo/barbaresco and light bodied reds. Have now blind tasted the Sensory glasses with following wines and also completed comparison tastes with the aforementioned glasses as appropriate to the varietal:
Bedrock Cuvée Karatas (68% Semillon, 32% Sauv Blanc) 2021
Bedrock Judge Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Blackbird Vineyards Sauv Blanc (16% Semillon) 2021
Beaux Freres Beaux Freres Vineyard 2018
Williams Selyem Sonoma County 2020
Kosta Browne Premier Cru Pommard 2020
Abreu Thorevilos 2014
Di Costanzo DI CO 2020
It’s still a judgement in progress, but these are my early impressions with regards to the Sensory glasses :
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The Sensory glasses consistently show the best nose across all varietals. The bouquet is much more precise and I am able to pick out more individual notes versus any of the other glasses.
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The Sensory glasses are clearly the best for Pinot Noir of all styles tried (Burgundy, Sonoma, Oregon). The Riedel Vinum Extreme Pinot is still a great glass, but the Sensory takes it up a notch.
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The Sensory glasses accentuate the savory notes of the whites (which I like) versus the Zalto Universal which shows more of the RS and sweet notes on the Cuvee Karatas and Judge Vineyard. These are not sweet wines per se, but have a hint of sweetness which the Zalto pulls out. It is clear that the Zalto shape hits the tip of the tongue more while the Sensory hits the middle of the tongue first.
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The Sensory glasses accentuate the Abreu Thorevilos alcohol (14.5%) in the mid-palate which detracts from an otherwise fantastic wine (the wine was decanted for 2.5 hours before serving). Although the nose and flavors were more precise with the Sensory, I enjoyed the Abreu more from the Riedel Vinum Extreme Cabernet glass as the alcohol and significant tannins were more highly integrated.
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The Sensory glasses showed poorly with the Di CO 2020 (a wine that I absolutely LOVE) when not decanted. Sour tannin notes dominated and the fruit notes were watery. I mean really poorly in that I really did not enjoy the glass and incorrectly guessed the quality of the wine. The wine is completely different in the Riedel Vinum Extreme. It tastes like a tight high quality wine in the Riedel and really opens up to a lovely glass with some air. It was much easier for me to identify the DI CO as a young, tight wine that needed more air in the Riedel versus incorrectly identifying it as a lesser quality wine with harsh tannins in the Sensory.
Overall – the Sensory will now be a go to for Pinot Noir of all regions and for all whites, however I do not think it is a universal glass for me and will not be using it for blind tasting reds because it does not appear to be a great match for young, higher alcohol/tannin reds.
I am of course still really excited to try this with some Nebbiolo that needs a little more cellar time and also will be trying it with some Brunellos too.
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I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Grassl kicks assl.
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Agree. I’ve been happy with CFJ’s glasses and service. Chris generally has a Berserker Day glassware offer. A good way to stock up as long as you are ok buying your glassware on a “futures” basis. They came 5-6 months later in 2022.
Side note: though I am a Grassl fan for their balance of grace and durability, I recently used my lone surviving Zalto Universal- no question its a great glass. I just seem to break Zaltos faster than Grassls, which (spoiler alert) also break!
Last summer, I bonked the dish rack and tipped 3 hanging Grassls over simultaneously, to the sound of much tinkling destruction and piteous weeping…
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When I have broken mine in the dishwasher it’s all my fault and not the glass’s fault…twice when on autopilot because I forgot to lower the top shelf.
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Curious what aspect of the lip impacts your perception, or is it just the physical comfort of drinking from the glass?
on the aromatics. no idea why, but to me, it’s consistent and rather significant.
I accept that. Aside from the slight differences in shape, notice the bigger difference with the Conterno glass? Its height. I’ve postulated for a long time that the differences people perceive in aromatics are due more to the height above liquid level than shape.
not sure how height above liquid could possibly be relevant given how much you need to tilt the glass to small and drink the wine, approaching a full 90 degrees turn.
I think of it as essentially a distillation. Volatile aromatics are escaping the surface. The farther your nose is from the surface, the more differential there is between faster and slower moving compounds.
I’ve related the story before, about a time when I had a crappy shallow glass, and everyone else had taller glasses. I picked up TCA that they didn’t, until they nosed my glass. Heavier, slower molecule, takes longer to reach the opening of the glass.
I can’t even fathom how swirling and tilting the glass, which pushes air around, impacts aromatic perceptions.
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Hi, would be extremely interested in your comparison of the Conterno with the glasvin, primarily the Obsession. First of all for Pinot and Nebbiolo, naturally …
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for me, the conterno is the best of the 3 with the prestige second, and the obsession a more distant 3rd place (i never use it). given the price difference between the conterno and the prestige, the prestige is the best deal.
hope that helps.