I was reading today my latest copy of TonyBlue’s joke of a magazine, The Tasting Report. Well…I read it only for the centerfold and the picsof hot chicks w/ mucho cleavage.
There was an article on a seminar that GeorgRiedel held in PasoRobles. He declared that his wine glasses are all based on physics. Yeah…sure.
But what caught my eye was he stated in 2014, Riedel will be introducing special glasses for coffee and tea. And…and…soda pop.
The Lord have mercy on us…it’s the end of Western Civilization as we know it.
Tom
I was under the impression that Western Civilization ended sometime in the 90s.
Surely this signals that a rise from the ashes isn’t imminent.
sorry i missed what else you were saying…
The decline started sometime in the early 1980’s, mostly centered around LA and Orange counties
Yes, but soda pop with…First Growth added to it!
I’m sure it won’t be A soda pop glass, my guess is it will be
One for clears…sprite, 7-up, fresca
One for Coke, Rc Cola, Pepsi
One for Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb
Not sure about grape soda, orange soda, and the wild card root beer
But that leaves no way to do the Dew.
If you don’t use a different glass for root beer you’re a barbarian.
If he doesn’t have a different glass for all of them, it’s more evidence that his whole schtick is BS. And then there are all the “artisinal” or “natural” producers making small production pop out of bark and fruit and herbs.
I wonder why he didn’t go with beer instead of soda? He may have been able to sucker in a few converts.
I don’t think his schtick is BS, at least not the central idea, which is that the shape of the glass influences the way the wine tastes.
Some of us do think that is pure horseschtick Seriously.
Well, it’s easy enough to test his hypothesis. When I tested it I found that there was a pronounced difference. His original reasoning was perhaps flawed, as I think he was using the debunked ‘tongue map,’ but for whatever reason it worked for me.
The spirits glasses make a dramatic difference, too. Unfortunately I don’t drink soda, so…
How much is the Diet Coke glass?
Holding out for the Root Beer Float glass, with hand-blown spoon.
I agree that the shape, and quality of the glass has an effect on taste, but to the degree that taste and aroma are related, because my understanding of the situation is that it’s the volatiles that glass shape sets into (or out of) motion. As for a different glass for each variety–that exceeds the definition of bullshit.
Having said that, I do keep a number of different water glasses in my home. So many of my guests demand that their water taste a certain way, and Riedel is so accommodating the company charged me only $200 for each glass: I have a glass that makes my tap water taste like orange wine, and since my water is ugly, it even looks like orange wine. I give that glass to my bother-in-law, because he can’t tell the difference between orange wine and really good white wine. 
Yup, Oliver…do not dispute that point for one momento. I’ve done two of the Riedel seminars and they made a believer of me how
much of an impact the shape can have on the aromatics.
So when you drink a wine from a Riedel glass, do you want to use one whose shape amplifies the defects…or one that showcases the pleasures??
And the claim that each glass delivers the wine onto the palate to best show it is hard for me to swallow (no pun intended). And that the shape of the
glass affects the acidity. When I take the wine into my mouth & slosh it around, I fail to see how the shape of the glass that delivered the wine
has an effect. It’s not a subject I’m willing to spend big $$'s on to explore.
Tom
And furthermore, GeorgRiedel’s crack Physics Department is developing a Riedel sippy cup, with a porous cap that is able to deliver
the aromas of the contents directly to the baby’s nostrils. There will be one for orange juice, baby formula, the Mother’s milk, and KoolAid.
And comes in assorted colors to entertain baby.
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Tom
Tom,
I don’t know why it works, and I know the early ‘tongue map’ reason they gave for it working is bunk, but I find that it does work. Different glasses make wine smell different and even taste different.
One of the interesting aspects of this for me was that the absolute classic glass for certain types was terrible, for example the flattened goblet that used to be the standard Pinot glass in Burgundy. Or the ‘snifter’ for Cognac. Or the flute for Champagne, for that matter.
I was at a seminar near Paso Robles (central coast wine classic) a couple of years ago given by Georg and it was quite interesting. Do not recall the soda or coffee/tea glasses though.
Geeze, how much cabinet space does he think we have?!? No more room! I’m going to have to keep using champagne flutes for soda.