Finally got to use Zalto

WINE TALK
21

I think it’s safe to say that if you can find these glasses for a good price, it makes sense to try all of them and come to your own conclusion. I really wanted to like the champagne flutes but something about them just makes me want to smash the sh*t out of them.

22

Have you compared the white wine glass to the champagne glass for champagne? I am contemplating the latter

23

Neal, I haven’t tried the champagne glass simply because I didn’t like the look or feel of it. To me they are almost annoying thin. They might be durable, but they feel dainty to me. I’m 6’4 and I felt like I’d break on just holding it. I also wasn’t a fan of the bowl. I thought it would be a little larger and deeper, but not the case, IMO. They just aren’t for me.

24

Not Champagne yet but having recently purchased the white wine Zalto am using it for 20yr Port rather than the Port/Sauternes glass. The later I love and may suit some Champs.

25

I’ll second this. As an X-Mas gift, I received 4 each of the Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Universal. We’ve been putting them through their paces (they are all WONDERFUL), but I find the Bordeaux to be amazingly versatile. In just the last few weeks, my wife and I have preferred the Bordeaux glass over the other two with Cru Beaujolais, Etna Rosso, a variety of CdP’s, a NZ Sauv Blanc, an IGT, a few youngster WA cabs, and yes, even a Bordeaux (though painfully young). I was once a skeptic, but these glasses are truly a delight.

26

I just got my sampler pack of Zalto. They all look stylish and fabulous, and they are a pleasure to use. The only one I’ve tried so far is the sweet wine glass, and I have to say that despite the gorgeous design, they are inferior to the Riedel Sommelier Sauternes glasses for the two sauternes that I compared side by side tonight (1997 and 2009 Climens). The noses were slightly flatter in the Zalto, slightly richer and more complex in the Riedel.

I will certainly try the other glasses over time as well! It seems like the universal has the most unqualified praise, so I look forward to trying that.

A good lesson though, to try something out for yourself before investing in it. I’m glad I got a sampler pack, if only to find that I don’t need to replace all my (pricey) Riedel Sauternes glasses.

27

BTW, IME, every wine shows best in a different glass, though there are certainly patterns. Meaning you can’t just pick one glass for, say, aged Barolo, because different aged Barolo will show best in different glasses.

28

Although this may be true, I have no intention of pouring every wine I open into 3-4 different glasses to decide which glass I should use. Although I have been accused of having OCD, you can’t be serious.
[snort.gif]

29

Haven’t decided if I feel sorry for y’all or if I’m in awe. Maybe both.

30

Not every wine.

But you should absolutely do it once in a while.

31

Also, 3-4 glasses is sort of the lower limit. 5-6 is more like it [cheers.gif]

32

Exactly! We are having a ball with the experimentation, but rapidly tiring of washing all the damn glasses. All I can add is that the wide base in the Bordeaux glass (compared to other Bordeaux stems) makes it surprisingly versatile. I suspect it will get a great deal of use, although I drink plenty of pinot and chard so the Burg glasses will get put through it as well. But in a pinch, I think the Bordeaux glass would serve well enough for most uses if you were evaluating whether to dip a toe in the Zalto waters. I’d start with these and not the universal, which to me are too small.

33

Would the universal serve as a better Chardonnay glass?

34

I only own the Zalto burgs, which we use for older Burgs & older american pinots. Also worked very well for old barolos. The guys at Weygandt were really exuberant over the whites for champagne. 2 Whites will probably be my next purchase as we are increasingly drinking more mature vintage champagne. I would love to have 2 of the entire range, but its hard to justify the cost.