Many wine enthusiasts and professionals believe that the shape of the glass has a significant impact on the wine-tasting experience. The shape of a wine glass, rather than its size, determines how aroma is concentrated, how the wine enters the mouth, and how it feels on the tongue.
Riedel Wine Glass Company has been crafting wine glasses since 1756 and specializes in creating varietal-specific glasses that enhance the unique characteristics of each wine. As one of the world’s leading glassmakers, Riedel is renowned for producing premium-quality glassware, each piece uniquely shaped to accentuate the characteristics of different grape varieties and wine regions, thereby elevating the overall tasting experience.
Riedel believes that different grape varieties have unique characteristics and flavor profiles. To fully appreciate these nuances, it’s important to use glasses specifically designed to enhance them. Just as certain knives are necessary for different kitchen tasks, wine enthusiasts can enhance their tasting experience with glassware tailored for each type of wine. Riedel creates glasses with distinct bowl shapes and rim diameters that influence how the wine flows onto the palate. This design directs the wine to the areas of the tongue that are most sensitive to its acidity, tannins, or sweetness.
I was fortunate enough to participate in a Riedel Wine Glass workshop in Columbia several years ago. It was conducted by the 11th-generation owner, Maximilian Riedel. He was in Columbia doing research on Missouri’s Norton wine to design a Norton wine glass.
His workshop was quite astonishing. We initially had a Merlot poured into a plastic cup. We tasted and then poured from the plastic cup into a standard restaurant wine glass. Again, we tasted and then poured the glass of Merlot into a Merlot-specific Riedel wine glass. It was like drinking a completely different wine! If I hadn’t poured it myself, I would have been skeptical. The wine developed characteristics that weren’t noticeable in the first two glasses.
Riedel’s research indicates that aroma significantly contributes to the overall flavor of wine, suggesting that 90% of a wine’s flavor is derived from its aroma. Its glasses are shaped to guide these delicate aromas to your nose. The shape of the glass also directs wine to different areas of your tongue depending on the varietal-specific glass.
Furthermore, Riedel has decanters designed to aerate your favorite wines and unlock their full potential, with each featuring a unique shape that not only looks stunning on your table but also enhances the aromas and flavors of the wine.
You don’t need to buy a separate Riedel glass for every variety of wine that you have; they also make a more “generic” white wine glass and red wine glass. While not as varietal-specific, they still do a great job of accentuating the wine’s characteristics.
Again, shape, not size, matters.
You and your wine will appreciate it.
