yet another post on wine glasses

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

J@hn,
As an experiment, take a wine, pour it into three different glasses, and try from each one. Pour some into your mouth, and hold the wine in your mouth for a few seconds. Breathe in and out, deeply, through your nose a couple times while holding the wine in your mouth. Then, taste the wine. It should taste the same, at that point, regardless of the vessel from which it exited into your mouth.

I think, when we “taste” (i.e.: drink) wine, there is very little gap in time between smelling it, and tasting it, which causes those aromas (or, likely more accurately, the brain signals associated with smelling those aromas) to have an impact on taste (or, likely more accurately, our perception of taste). Look-up retronasal olfaction, if you didn’t already — that is the manner in which the sense of smell can have an actual impact on our sense of taste (actual, as opposed to perceived).

[JulianEldridge]

Schott Zweisel are still my go to everyday glass and what I will bring out at parties. They are bulletproof and go into the dishwasher and are way better than cheap stems… Are there better glasses for special wines? Of course but I wouldn’t get rid of the Schott Zweisel glasses.

So that was resulting dilemma: what to use for parties or for our friends in whose hands the more delicate stems may be at risk. We considered keeping the SZ’s, but then decided to check out some alternatives. One of which was the GG StandArt, which hit the sweet spot: better than the SZ’s by a margin wide enough to justify the cost to upgrade, and versatile enough for most reds and whites. Next move is to see if there is a pinot/burgundy glass that hits the same sweet spot. If anyone has any suggestions, lemme know.

…now you need to do yourself a favor and snag some Gabriel Glass Golds

As for also getting some GGG’s, that’s entirely likely, especially since we liked the StandArt so much, and have no problem in taking a ‘both/and’ approach–where’s the downside?

[Alan_Rath]

YAAWGT

Drink wine out of the glass that gives you the most pleasure, it’s as simple as that.

[Rich_Brown]

I have been a long-time loyal Zalto user but have recently switched to Josephine Hutte which was started by one of the Zalto family members.

https://us.josephinen.com/

I just bought more and they offered a 10% discount.

Get 10% off using my discount code

honestly thee shape of these glasses just trigger me.

Ditto. I know it sounds ridiculous, but they honestly disgust me.

I’ve gotta agree with you both. These glasses are…not very nice to look at (being as nice as I can here). If I didn’t know any better and saw someone drinking out of these, I’d honestly think it was a joke or something.

[Andy_Sc]

J@hn,
As an experiment, take a wine, pour it into three different glasses, and try from each one. Pour some into your mouth, and hold the wine in your mouth for a few seconds. Breathe in and out, deeply, through your nose a couple times while holding the wine in your mouth. Then, taste the wine. It should taste the same, at that point, regardless of the vessel from which it exited into your mouth.

I think, when we “taste” (i.e.: drink) wine, there is very little gap in time between smelling it, and tasting it, which causes those aromas (or, likely more accurately, the brain signals associated with smelling those aromas) to have an impact on taste (or, likely more accurately, our perception of taste). Look-up retronasal olfaction, if you didn’t already — that is the manner in which the sense of smell can have an actual impact on our sense of taste (actual, as opposed to perceived).

As I don’t drink wine in this weird way you laid out in your experiment, the form of the wine glass has a significant impact on my drinking experience. I honestly don’t care why that is so or of it shouldn’t be so, it’s just experience (and many side by side tests).

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

J@hn,
As an experiment, take a wine, pour it into three different glasses, and try from each one. Pour some into your mouth, and hold the wine in your mouth for a few seconds. Breathe in and out, deeply, through your nose a couple times while holding the wine in your mouth. Then, taste the wine. It should taste the same, at that point, regardless of the vessel from which it exited into your mouth.

I think, when we “taste” (i.e.: drink) wine, there is very little gap in time between smelling it, and tasting it, which causes those aromas (or, likely more accurately, the brain signals associated with smelling those aromas) to have an impact on taste (or, likely more accurately, our perception of taste). Look-up retronasal olfaction, if you didn’t already — that is the manner in which the sense of smell can have an actual impact on our sense of taste (actual, as opposed to perceived).

As I don’t drink wine in this weird way you laid out in your experiment, the form of the wine glass has a significant impact on my drinking experience. I honestly don’t care why that is so or of it shouldn’t be so, it’s just experience (and many side by side tests).

“Drinking experience” is different than “taste”; my little experiment is designed to clearly separate the two. I think it’s widely recognized that the glass has an impact on the drinking experience.

[Keith_Levenberg]

I have been a long-time loyal Zalto user but have recently switched to Josephine Hutte which was started by one of the Zalto family members.

https://us.josephinen.com/

I just bought more and they offered a 10% discount.

Get 10% off using my discount code

Yikes!!

My kingdom for someone to just go back to making the good ol’-fashioned tulip.

[Keith_Levenberg]

It sure is weird then how the same wine can taste different from different glasses. But thanks for the insult. Speaking of anatomy…

No weirder than the numerous other things people routinely hallucinate that have no basis in reality

[Jim_Brennan]

For me I’m happy to drink from reasonably affordable glasses. I bought a bunch of Spielgelau before the were acquired, a dozen or two Schott Zweisels on closeout, some other glasses from Costplus when they left the Michigan market. The only glasses I’ve added in the last 8 or 9 years are maybe a dozen stemless Riedels that appear to only be sold to wine stores for tastings. And interestingly, unless I’m opening something $50+ or with alot of age, the stemless Riedels are what I use most often. Also fit nicely in dishwasher and generally only break when dropped (not sure one has ever broken in the washer)

PS they look alot like Riedel Swirl glasses (see photo), but I don’t think I paid more than $8-10 each. I also use them regularly for whiskey (I own no Glencairns and see no reason to get any, as these are pretty modestly sized and do the trick quite well)

[robert_creth]

The shape of the bowl is far more important to me than the thinness of the glass. Having broken one of the board favorites on my tooth, I have backed away from delicate stemware. While I don’t dispute the science of aroma dispersal, I am just not that discerning. Give me a deep bowl with a decent taper and I’m good with any wine. But then I am a Luddite.

[Mikael_OB]

Personally I love the Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic Bordeaux, the best every day glass that works great with most grape varieties both red and white. From Syrah, Nebbiolo and pinot noir to most white wines ( Amber, riesling, etc.).

Great glass to assess the quality of a wine, somehow and if possible to say, it is a “balanced” glass.

Ps. Edited with compliments to Tom

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Personally I love the Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic Bordeaux, the best every day glass that works great with most grape varieties both red and white. From Syrah, Nebbiolo and pinot noir to most white wines ( Amber, riesling, etc.).

Great glass to asses the quality of a wine, somehow and if possible to say, it is a “balanced” glass.

Spelling matters.

[GregT]

I’ve read that something like 80 or 90 percent of what we perceive as taste comes from smell. So I would say anything that improves aromatics must have a drastic effect on taste.

That’s constantly repeated by people who don’t understand basic anatomy. Sniffing the glass is NOT taste. The aromas can prep your mind, just like the smell of bacon can and just like Pavlov’s dogs were prepped by the bell, but it is not itself taste. What you perceive as taste comes from inside your mouth, not from outside through your nostrils. Humans are not dogs. Our olfactory system is very different from theirs.

So Brian is correct. The glass has nothing to do with what you taste once it’s in your mouth.

It sure is weird then how the same wine can taste different from different glasses. But thanks for the insult. Speaking of anatomy…

Sure is weird how one can imagine the same wine can taste different from different glasses. You’re welcome.

[Mikael_OB]

Personally I love the Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic Bordeaux, the best every day glass that works great with most grape varieties both red and white. From Syrah, Nebbiolo and pinot noir to most white wines ( Amber, riesling, etc.).

Great glass to asses the quality of a wine, somehow and if possible to say, it is a “balanced” glass.

Spelling matters.

That’s what you get for trying to press send before being handed a crying baby

[Pat_Martin]

I have been a long-time loyal Zalto user but have recently switched to Josephine Hutte which was started by one of the Zalto family members.

https://us.josephinen.com/

I just bought more and they offered a 10% discount.

Get 10% off using my discount code

honestly thee shape of these glasses just trigger me.

Clearly, the preferred stem of Salvador Dali.

[Stan_Y]

I have been a long-time loyal Zalto user but have recently switched to Josephine Hutte which was started by one of the Zalto family members.

https://us.josephinen.com/

In addition to the unique shape, I’ve never seen a winemaker referred to as:

@https://us.josephinen.com

Exceptional wine maker
Three times achiever of 100 Parker points

[Jayson_Cohen]

Personal opinion: the glass makes no difference re: taste because you taste the wine once it’s in your mouth, not when it’s in the glass. Glassware makes a difference with respect to aromatics.

I agree with you: Grassl glasses are awesome.

I’ve read that something like 80 or 90 percent of what we perceive as taste comes from smell. So I would say anything that improves aromatics must have a drastic effect on taste.

That would be retronasal olfaction, which has nothing to do with the glass.

I don’t agree with that, at least for me. I find how a wine enters and spreads out in my mouth has a dramatic effect not just on taste and textural perception but also retronasal olfaction. It’s a dynamical process in the mouth where the fluid dynamics entering and inside my mouth change the retronasal olfactory experience for me.

[Jayson_Cohen]

…now you need to do yourself a favor and snag some Gabriel Glass Golds

My go tos. But I used Grassl Liberte a few times last week over a couple days with friends, and they were quite nice too for certain whites and Champagne. Slightly smaller but similar shape to GGG.