m newish to wine and berserkers in general, but would like to get a pair of really nice glasses for my wife and me to enjoy our wine in 2021. We stick mainly to reds and like to try all varietals. Through my own research I have concluded on either Gaberial Glas v Zalto v Grassl. What are the favorite glasses for a set of 2 (wife and me) on most occasions and also maybe a set of 6-8 for when company comes over? (Or am I missing on a brand completely)
We recently got a Miele which has been great for grassl and riedel somm series. Glasses some out perfectly. It has been a delight not to worry about hand washing glassware either after a meal or the next morning.
Two quick observations. Seventy percent (I am pretty sure this is the right number) of taste is smell. Second, riedel claims that their different glasses direct the wine to different parts of your mouth to highlight the positive aspects is a particular grape. I donāt know enough to assess how accurate that is, but I do know different glasses make a wine taste very different. Finally, I agree with the general thrust. A mediocre wine is not going to be saved by a great glass. And an amazing wine can be enjoyed out of a mediocre glass. Consistent with this is the idea that a better glass enhances and improves the overall drinking experience, including taste.
Agreed. But I was talking strictly about Taste.
Agreed, but once the wine is in your mouth it is your mouth, not the glass, that is the vessel. So, by the time the wine touches your tongue, does it really matter what shape/size glass the wine came from? I hypothesize the answer is āNo.ā
Second, riedel claims that their different glasses direct the wine to different parts of your mouth to highlight the positive aspects is a particular grape. I donāt know enough to assess how accurate that is, but I do know different glasses make a wine taste very different.
This would resonate with me if wine (a liquid, mind you) once poured to a particular part of your mouth stayed there, and only there, before going down the hatch. I know that isnāt the case with me, as the wine manages to make its way to the various nooks and crannies of my mouth before it makes its journey to my belly; I suspect the same is true for most of us.
Finally, I agree with the general thrust. A mediocre wine is not going to be saved by a great glass. And an amazing wine can be enjoyed out of a mediocre glass. Consistent with this is the idea that a better glass enhances and improves the overall drinking experience, including taste.
I agree with this, and am a fan of nice glassware. I just donāt think the glassware matters once the wine is in the mouth. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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We have a new top of the line Bosch that accommodates 4 wine glasses in the upper rack. It has a salt dispenser that we use given the hard water. We donāt use a drying agent. Glasses almost always come out perfect except for a bit of water on the rim. We have a third rack for utensils but never use it and Grassl, GGG fit. I think the Zalto bdx stems are a bit taller.
I think the Miele may be the better dishwasher.
I would be interested in how you (and others who use their Miele dishwasher to wash their āfragileā and larger stems) place and āsecureā their glasses. I have always washed my Reidel and now Zaltoās by hand over the years as I just couldnāt picture how the glasses would not tip over or hit each other in our Miele. Do you remove the upper utensil tray? Does the glass tray adjust lower? Do you somehow use the lower rack? Any tricks? And any special soap or reduced amount to avoid a persisting detergent odor?
Thanks everyone for the replies! We have a Bosch fridge so might go with that. Although the Miele look very nice as well.
And if anyone is willing to post a photo of their tall āfragileā wine glasses placed in their Miele dishwasher, that would be helpful
.
Maybe I mistakenly think that the water is more forceful than it is, and leaning unsecured thin glasses like Zaltos, Grasslās, etc. are more vulnerable than they actually are in the dishwasher.
We have a Bosch with a small flip rack on the second level that holds glasses secure. We have broken two glasses washing them by hand and 0 in the dishwasher. We predominantly have Schott Zweisel glasses. Just ordered Grassl. We will see how it goes.
We put out Grassel Meralites on the bottom of the Miele where the plates would go (on the prongs) without other things nearby. We wash our cheaper Schott Zwiesel Pure glasses on top in the wine glass holders, although sometimes we try to insert or remove them when itās packed too tight and have broke a couple. Otherwise, we love how the glasses come out in the dishwasher.
EDIT: Also, the middle rack adjusts down to make more room, and we use the light wash setting.
I apologize, I should know how to post a pic but canāt figure it out. I will continue to try ā I just took a pic of a wine glass in our Miele.
We put the wine glasses ā which includes the very delicate Grassl and the less delicate but larger Riedel Somm series ā in the rack on the bottom. To the right there are little clips for the stems. We try to put them so they are not touching, but they are pretty close. And at the front of the bottom tray, they are less anchored because of the design of the bottom part. So for those front ones, I was at first worried they might hit and break. But that has yet to happen.
We also use the normal wash cycle ā and have used both Cascade pods and the more fancy (or at least more expensive) Miele pods. We have not had a problem with either ā no streaking, no odors, etc. We also have the normal Miele rinse aid that is regularly kept full for all of the washings.
There is a special crystal and china setting. I have used that once or twice when I have put in lots of glasses and nothing else. I canāt honestly say that I can tell a difference from the normal setting and the more specialized glass and china setting. I would assume it is more gentle, but again we have never had a problem with the normal setting with quite delicate glasses.
Finally we used to have Fisher Paykal dishwasher drawers. I did finally get up the courage to put glassware in them ā def Riedel and I think by then I had some of the Grassl ā again, no problems, though capacity was much less.
I have definitely become a convert to the wash glasses with dishwasher. Less risk of breakage ā and the result is always better (which may say more about my handwashing skillsā¦)
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Brian,
I cannot figure out how to respond inline as you did with all of the quotation marks!
One test that might be interesting is to clip (or pinch) your nose, take a drink of wine, once it is in your mouth, release your nose, and see what tastes you get. I am not a scientist, but my guess is that the smell before the wine goes into the mouth carries over into the taste in the mouth. But just a guess.
I tend to agree with you about the placement issue ā we all probably move the wine around in our mouths. So the question is whether the first place the wine hits makes a difference. Riedel seems to think yes. Like you I am a bit skeptical, though I do find a wine can taste remarkably different depending on glass. I have tried to figure out what explains this correlation or causation - but have decided I donāt care enough to get a science degree, so I just try different glasses and then continue with the one that works well for me with that particular wine.
Sounds good to me, Ron! Iād be willing to bet there is a pre-sip carryover effect that has an impact on our perceptions re: wine tasting differently out of different glassesā happens with me, too! But, from an academic/analytical POV, I stand by my comments earlier in this thread. And I will continue to have different glasses for different wines because, imo, it does make a difference.
Water pressure isnāt a problem. Itās if the glasses move around.
Donāt adjust the second rack with wine glasses in it. This seems obvious and it is, but itās how I break glasses in the DW.
When you remove the third, utensil rack there will still be a rail that you need to account for.
Donāt lower the second rack too far, the spray wand still needs to rotate freely. I suspect on the few occasions when cleaning has been less than optimal that this was the problem.
Note, I seem to have the lighter weight Grassl crus.
That lower rack for the Miele is exactly why I think the Miele is better than Bosch. Iām probably overlooking some $250 rack for the Bosch.
Hey, thank you all for the Miele tips and tricks and the photo! Extremely helpful, and I will be trying it soon.
Now ai know that those clips are for! I admit, the clips in the bottom rack make me feel more secure. Just leaning the glass in between those fold down sections on the second (middle) rackā¦less so. But we shall see.
Thanks again.
I have tried the second rack fold down ones also ā though for smaller glasses. When I have done a full run of glassware (not much recently given lack of entertaining b/c of COVID), then I have used the second rack also ā but then there is nothing else in that second rack. But I have done a few glasses up there (port, small cognac glasses, that donāt work well with the bottom rack), and have not had a problem. I agree that the second rack seems less secure, though I have had no breakage yet!
We were supposed to stay off the sauce til Friday, but yesterdayās news drove us to pop the cork. It was also our first time trying our new 1855 stems. What a treat, to sip out of such elegant and beautifully crafted glassware. Huge thanks to Chris for a seamless and enjoyable transaction.
Kuddos Bob. The 1855 is really tough to beat.
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