The perfect red wine glass?

[Shan_A]

Frank - helpful. Just curious, do you have a sense of dimensions between the GGG, SW Essential (recognize you don’t have the red)? Frankly am debating now between GGG, SW, or SW+SW Red, or just the SW Red. Difficult to try in person. I have a single GGG coming Wednesday from Amazon to look at/return, but can’t really do that with the SWs as easily (although I may just do that as well). I predominately drink reds, and favor Burgundy and Barolo.

[Chris_Freemott]

Frankly am debating now between GGG, SW, or SW+SW Red, or just the SW Red

I have all in my home. What do you specifically wish to know?

[MChang]

Zalto universal

[Justin_S1]

Sh@an, I like the GGG a lot, but find it a bit small for wines that I’d ordinarily want to pour into a large bowl, like barolo. It will work fine in the GGG though, especially if you are okay with smaller pours.

In terms of Zaltos, I use the Bordeaux stem the most and find it to be the most “universal” of their offerings because it is large, but not as huge as the Burgundy stem (which I still pull out once in a while for special bottles).

[Shan_A]

Frankly am debating now between GGG, SW, or SW+SW Red, or just the SW Red

I have all in my home. What do you specifically wish to know?

Which one I should buy, liking smaller form factors but drinking mainly burgs and barolos

[Chris_Freemott]

I’m genetically incapable of posting a photo here - would you like me to take side by sides of GGG / SW / Zalto / ?

I can email them to you if you PM me your email address or just email me cfreemott at mac dot com

[Shan_A]

well thank you! I imagine posting them on the forum for everyone’s benefit would be great!

[Chris_Freemott]

I will tell you, the SW “Burgundy”, which they call “The Red”, is considerably smaller than the Z Burgundy. Personally, I like that stem much better than the Zalto. I would also say if you’re drinking burg and barolo, the SW glass per your smaller form factor request, is the proper choice.

[Chris_Freemott]

If you can figure out how to post them - go for it. I’m simply a village idiot. LOL

[Dinu_Velici]

I have all in my home. What do you specifically wish to know?

I see you are a veteran around here…so if you are kindly, i would love to “hear” your opinion about the perfect or best (or how you want to call it) red wine glass. What brand do you suggest me to choose and what type of red wine glass?

[Shan_A]

You (and everyone else) have answered my questions. Thank you! I have enough information to make a decision. Which means I will let the wife decide.

[Kent_Comley]

My favs.
Riedel Vinum Burgundy for Pinot and Neb
Riedel Vinum Bordeaux for Shiraz, CS and full bodied reds
Riedel Vinum Chianti for many whites and fragrant reds

These three glasses do it for me. For Chardonnay I just love the Riedel Extreme Chardonnay glass.

[Chris_Freemott]

Dinu,
Wine glasses are a personal thing in my opinion. One person’s aged burgundy may be great in a Zalto Burgundy or it may fall apart in there due to the surface area.

I don’t think you can be hurt with ANY of the suggestions above. No glass will turn water into wine. And no ‘red’ wine glass exists such that it can feasibly provide a perfect drinking experience throughout the life of the bottle.

First find one you visually like, then hold one empty and then hold one with a proper pour. Balance = function. Then let a pour evolve over a few hours and do so with a competitor’s glass at the same time.

I don’t subscribe to the Riedel model of a stem per grape. That seems silly (though, to their point, highly profitable which I support). Nor do I think a ‘global’ or universal glass, a la Jancis or Gabriel is appropriate. Somewhere in the middle is the right answer but to restate, there is nothing wrong with Zalto, Gabe, Riedel, Sophienwald. It’s how you feel your wines taste in them and what you like.

[Chris_Freemott]

Note to Mods, WTF? why is posting an image defaulting to landscape?


left to right
Gabriel Gold, SW Essential, SW Red, Z Burgundy

[Shan_A]

Great photos! Thank you. They actually have made it more clear to me to go with the SWs over the GGG from a visual standpoint. Only question now is do I get Essential + Reds or Whites + Reds… recognizing don’t have so many whites. Out of all the glasses, the SW Essentials has my favorite shape.

[YLee]

can you name the glasses from left to right please? thx

[Chris_Freemott]

They are labeled now

[J_D_o_v_e]

Dinu - you could always do a search on this forum where there are many threads on the different glasses. You will find opinions on everything having to do with glasses and if you’re going to make your decision on the majority vote, then you’ll find yourself with the glass that the majority of people who chose to answer prefer, which is not the same thing as the “best” glass. Chris didn’t do anything to limit your question, he simply threw another question out there because if you do a search for threads on this topic, you will find that a lot of people like Zalto, various Riedel shapes, and Gabriel.

Again, there’s nothing that means those are the “best” glasses, they’re just preferred by some people.

As to whether those preferences matter, other questions to ask might be how many days each week the person uses those glasses or drinks wine, for how long they have been doing it, and what other glasses they have tried. You might get 100 people who drink wine once a week and have used three glasses in their lives and they all like the same glass. What use that information is will be up to you. I used to taste a few thousand wines a year, all from different sizes and shapes of glasses.

There are not two types of wine glass, Bordeaux and Burgundy. That was something created as a marketing plan by Riedel. As you have found, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of glass shapes. If you believe the marketing, the shape of a glass really matters to your enjoyment of wine. If enjoyment involves the taste of wine, that claim is obviously nonsense. But if enjoyment involves the look of the glasses at the dinner table, then it’s really personal preference.

I have heard people say that they can’t abide wine from a glass with a rolled lip (on the glass). It is preposterous to imagine that the lip of the glass has anything at all to do with the wine, but those people have decided for some reason that such a characteristic matters to them and consequently will tell you to buy something else.

Some people think that a thick glass is not as good as a thin one. Perhaps they equate thin with elegance, I don’t know. Some people will say with absolute confidence that the glass must be perfectly clear, so anything with a design or etching or cutting is no good. Those are simply personal preferences and have nothing whatsoever to do with enjoyment of a wine. And the thinner the glass, the more fragile it is. Some seem to shatter if you look at them the wrong way, so I don’t like those ultra-thin models.

There is no “best” glass other than the one you like, and you may like several. As long as the glass holds wine and gets it to your mouth, it works.

I once had several hundred glasses because I used to entertain a lot of people. I still have a few dozen shapes just because I’m curious and I have tasted out of many more types of glasses. I prefer a glass that is slightly on the large side, say at least 12 ounces but maybe a little larger, and I like a tulip shape just because of the way it looks. If the glass tapers at the top, that’s nice for getting a whiff but if you have a big nose like I do, you don’t want the taper to be too severe! Other than that, they’re all just fine. A glass that is too big is kind of clumsy on a dinner table, especially if it has a very long stem. Some people like the look but I find it very impractical and prefer shorter stems.

Other than that, remember that when you smell, you’re smelling volatile compounds and the shape of the glass does not affect the volatility at all. It may affect the concentration of aromas, which is why a tapered glass is nice, but few people are so astute that they honestly can notice a big difference. In addition, the same aromas are not found in every wine, which is part of the pleasure of wine, and which is why Riedel’s marketing is such nonsense. And the same aromas from a particular bottle will be found even if you pour that wine into six different glass shapes side by side. So another option for you is to buy five or six different shapes and use them side by side. That’s what I did a number of years ago. Finally, once the wine is in your mouth, the shape of the glass is irrelevant anyway.

My suggestion is to go out to dinner a few times, each time at a restaurant with a different glass shape. Then just decide what you like. A lot of random opinions will only end up being a bunch of random opinions. I like Schott Zweisel Forte and use that or Speigelau Vino Grande almost every day, partly because I have so many of them and they’re in the front of the cabinet. If my wife moves them around, we use something else. I don’t love the Zalto glasses mostly because I’m not in love with the shape, but if you like those, go for them.

And don’t worry about your English. It’s just fine. Welcome and good luck.

Here’s a related current thread:

Best Value Universal Wine Glass - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

Guess what?!, i also like Schott Zweisel Air Sense Bordeaux Glass from what i saw in pictures…And believe me, i live in Romania and none of the luxury restaurants i was , hasn’t got a a 60 dollars glass (Zalto bordeaux which i also prefer), no way a 150 dollars glass ( Schott Zweisel Air Sense Bordeaux) to test or feel them…the average sallary here is arround 300 euros .


So, that is why i asked here, because i want to see opinions from people who tried more brands, more glasses ( like you in this case), how they feel when you handle them etc. …


Maybe i was a little exagerate when i asked about the perfect glass, because the perfection doesn’t exist…but i want a good glass; a glass that makes you drink more and more, a glass that you like to keep it in hand, a glass that i will like to look at.
Let’s be honest, you can’t compare a cheap glass with an expensive one.


And the topic above that you gave me is about “Best Value Universal Wine Glass”…i don’t want a cheap glass (and when i say cheap, i say a glass that costs 7-8 dollars; i have lots of them in my house), much less an “universal” glass…( in my opinion you can’t drink all types of wine from an universal one…red wine is with his glasses, white with his own glasses and so on). It is only my opinion.

FWIW, I use the School Zweisel Air (not Sense) glasses and love them. We break a lot of glasses in our house and I just feel better using a $15 glass. They’re tough, go in the dishwasher, and I think they perform well. I prefer the Zalto – but, given the breakage rate – not 4x as much (or even 2x as much). They make a great Burgundy, white, and Champagne glass too.

[YLee]

I like the GGG and Z Burg

[Dinu_Velici]

The picture above from Chris Freemott help me a lot to decide which is the perfect or the best red wine glass for me.

If i am right, Zalto Denk’Art Bordeaux Glass is similar with the 3rd glass from left to right (SW RED)

Zalto Bordeaux have 680 ml (23 oz) and SW Red 710 ml (24 oz)…the shape is almost the same…there is such a little difference.

I am sure I will go for Zalto Bordeaux.

Now I understand why so much people choose Zalto Bordeaux( i have seen previously topics like: “What type of glass are you drinking from?”

Thank you for the picture mate.