I don’t know how but I was lucky enough to be invited to this but was looking forward having the opportunity to try all the different wine glass styles.
The tasting was held at & Sons Ham bar. New to me, they specialize in tastings of different high quality US Hams. Which was something else to look forward to.
The downside of the format was that I couldn’t fairly judge all the glasses as I was unfamiliar with some wines and therefore couldn’t tell if the glass made any difference.
First, some background on how I came to be such a fan of the Josephine Hutte (or as they’re known outside the USA JosephinenHutte) glasses. I loved the Zalto glasses from when they first started appearing in the US but, like others on the board, stopped buying them after hearing about how the company’s outside investors treated Kurt Zalto. I had already heard about how they got rid of him but I also heard tonight that they had clashed as he felt that the new investors were starting to cut corners on production. In any event, I refuse on principle to buy the glasses anymore (though I still use the ones I have left).
So the natural thing was to try his new line of glasses.
I bought some of the JH Universals and was very happy feeling they compared favorably with the Zalto Universal and GGG (which I stopped buying due to them breaking much more quickly than other glasses).
Then one day I was looking for a cooking wine and didn’t have any leftovers on hand. I decided to use some 2005 Musar from a purchase that had disappointed me tremendously as the first two bottles in the half case showed muddy and unfocused. I poured half the bottle into the stew and poured a glass into a JH Universal and took a sip. The wine was transformed. The mud became earth and the flavors popped into focus. I loved it. Skeptical, I poured the wine into 2 other glasses and it was back to being uninspired. I was a convert.
Since then I bought more Universals and have been using them as my default glass for almost everything.
We started with some Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs North Coast 2019 served in a Universal. I’ve had a number of Champagnes from the Universal and know they show well. But Schramsberg never impresses me unless it has some age on it and this was no exception. The glass did not transform the wine but that would be asking too much of it.
We then moved on to what, for me, was the most exciting course. I am not a fan of Ultramarine sparkling wines. Rodrigo, who was also there, likes their other wines but not their Rose.
So we were both amazed at how utterly amazingly the 2017 Ultramarine Heintz Vineyard Rose showed from the JH Champagne glass. Gorgeous aroma of roses and hints of orange. Rich and tannic and utterly delicious with a mouthwatering campari-ish note.
The JH Champagne glass is definitely on my to buy list.
With it we had 3 hams:
Benton - Smokey and salty and butter. Delicious. I like it much better than their bacon which is too salty for me.
Cassella - Dryer with an attractively complex woody note
Joyce - more salty again with attractive floral notes.
We then moved on to a delicious scallop appetizer which was paired with the 2017 Arista UV-El Diablo Vineyard RRV Chardonnay served in the JH white wine glass. Unfortunately the wine, while pleasant enough, is not the sort of wine I’ll normally drink and I’m totally unfamiliar with it. So I don’t know if the glass made any difference whatsoever.
We then had Chorizo stuffed chicken wings & Morels in a vin jaune sauce. This dish reached for greatness and achieved it in the component parts but not in the whole since the chorizo overpowered the morels. I dissected my dish and separated it was delicious.
This was paired with the 2022 Maison Noir “New Noir” Willamette Valley Rose. Again, not a wine I’m familiar with so I have no idea how the glass contributed. some nice Watermelon and candy floss on the nose, some tannins and bitterness on the palate, it was better with the food than on its own.
We concluded with yet another wine with which I am unfamiliar served from the red wine glass. From the look I think it should be good for pinot but the 2020 Hirsch “West Ridge” Estate Pinot Noir was not anything that excited me.
So my conclusion at the moment is that I absolutely love and recommend the Universal and the Champagne glasses and I’ll buy one each of the white and red wine glasses to test out with more familiar subjects.
And & Sons Ham Bar is worth checking out.
