Which are the best wine glass makers to purchase for your best wines and your best wine friends that truly appreciate wine? I am looking to pick up 4 - 8 glasses for Cab, PN, SB & Chardonnay as I think these four options will cover all varietals.
If I’m truly missing something essential, feel free to recommend OR if there is a specific vessel that will handle a few varietals I would be interested in learning about that.
Kind of bummed I missed the Riedel sale on Red Envelope that was posted previously but it is what it is.
I’ve got at least a hundred+ Riedel stems of various configurations right now but as they break (which they do occasionally), I’m replacing them with stems from Zalto, another terrific Austrian glass manufacturer. After using them for almost 25 years, I can rationalize Riedel’s concept of having different glasses for each variety and at several quality/price tiers, but justifying needing to have so many glasses around is another question.
I’ve found that the Zalto Burgundy or Zalto Universal glasses do an excellent job on just about anything I open. If money were no object, I’d swing for the fences and also pick up sets of their Bordeaux and white wine stems. These glasses are not inexpensive but IMO are worth the extra dough, even over Riedel’s prices. They can be found in fine wine shops but are probably best purchased from Winemonger, their importer: http://winemonger.com/catalog/zalto-glassware.php
All that being said, the Riedel Veritas Zinfandel/Riesling/Sauv Blanc glass is a pretty great all-around stem for red or white wines. I use those a lot, as well as the Riedel Vinum Burgundy/PN glasses. Good value for the money, and excellent glasses.
Red, S/B and Pinot Noir glasses should cover everything. The P/N glasses can double for chard glasses.
We have 2 Riedel Vinum series glasses left out of 32, (8 each Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and S/B). They are very fragile after the 4th bottle of wine for a group of 8, especially if they are Berserkers. Unless you intend to use the glasses for specific wine tasting events requiring the Parker 100 point glasses, very few people would notice a Riedel vs. K-Mart other than weight and imperfections. If by chance you can get access to Riedel restaurant series glasses, they are nearly bullet proof and very good glasses at a reasonable price. We all have friends who should only drink from sippy cups. If not, go with the Zalto.
Bought 360 small Libby tasting glasses and had them etched with our store logo 9 years ago. Have about 200 left. Sold the rest. Haven’t broken one yet. Of course the glass weighs as much as a Riedel Cab glass, is half the height and holds 1/10 the amount of liquid. Not a one broke during the earthquake either. All the Riedel Vinums and extremes did.
I’ve had great success with Schott Zwiesel Diva range wine glasses.
Especially their large Bordeaux and Champaigne glasses.
These always go into the dishwasher and not one has broken yet, even though they are very thin and delicate.
As most of us here, I have been experimenting with different types of stems from a range of different producers for many years. Needless to say, I have amassed a somewhat outsized collection in the process
The answer to this question is probably very much a function of individual needs and tastes, but, when all is said and done, I think all you really need is a set of great Bordeaux stems, a set of great Burgundy stems, and a set of great flutes. This will not just stand you in good stead, but also cover nearly everything you’ll ever need. (For example, I hardly ever come across a white wine that, for my purposes, doesn’t drink just as well, and often better, out of a bigger red-wine glass).
Which specific producer and type? The best producers have, more or less, all been mentioned upstream in the thread. Zalto stems are great, probably unrivalled in terms of the quality of workmanship, but also a little peculiar and (I realise this is probably not a majority opinion) not always the most versatile. The Stoelzle Quatrophil range is designed more or less along the same lines - beautiful to look at, the handfeel is quite light, quite durable and reasonably priced. A very good compromise, I think.
I have zillions of Riedel/Spiegelau Cabernet glasses that I use for tasting. But I have absolutely fallen in love with the Zalto Universal. Can’t explain it, but If I were to buy a 6 pack or 2 of something new, that would be it.
I bought a few dozen schott zweisel tritan forte glasses in 2007 and just broke my first one a couple weeks ago when I carelessly knocked it over on the marble countertop (thankfully it was empty so no staining!). They fit on the top rack of my dishwasher and I think they’re just great!
I’ve tried quite a few brands, from the low-end Crate and Barrel Hips (did not like), to the high-end Zalto (we’ve got Universals, never used, and Bordeaux) and while I admit the Zaltos are clearly the creme de la creme, they also, even at best possible prices, are simply too expensive to allow me to feel comfortable for daily use.
We’ve also got Riedel Viniums, which I’ve found OK, but break rather easily by comparison to others, Schott Zwiesel Tritans and our favorite, the Luigi Bormioli Atelier line. We use all three of these interchangably day to day, but the Bormioli’s are my favorite. They’re nearly identical to the Schott Zwiesel glasses at a fraction of the price and, like the SZ’s, are made of some sort of almost unbreakable glass that is also really thin and feels great. The Bormioli’s are not only cheaper, but the shape differs with just a tiny-bit-wider opening than the SZ’s, making them just a tiny bit more comfortable to drink from, IMHO. We’ve also washed both endlessly in our dishwasher and rarely lost a glass, unlike the Ridel’s. We bought a set of 12 of the LB’s about six years ago and still have 10 left.
We mostly use the Merlot/Cabernet Bormioli’s (the Pinots are nice, but HUGE), which are nearly identical to the Full-Bodied Red Zwiesel’s, but they’ve also got a dead ringer for the Zalto Universal with their “Intenso 740” glasses, which Amazon sells in sets of six for around $40.
Bormioli is a common name, so look for the Atelier or Son.hx glass designation for their higher quality stemware. TJ Maxx and Home Goods sometimes have them from time to time as well.
For comparison sake, I was just unloading the dishwasher and here are the Zwiesel (left) and Bormoli, side-by-side.
Between the Zalto Universal or Zalto Denk’Art Bordeaux, what would be recommended for a one stop shop for any/all varietals? The description shows that the Bordeaux is more ideal for all things Red.
What about the Gabriel Glas stemware? I thought I remember someone recommending them awhile back over Zalto… I’ve been debating whether to get these or Zalto Universal for awhile now. As usual, I’m sure the correct answer is ‘both’…
