Thank you gentlemen for recommending Spiegelau.
I was not familiar with this glass.
I do feel that it enhances the wine.
new restaurant in NYC - Charlie Bird
Looks like Charlie Bird won Eater's restaurant of the year award in NY!
http://m.ny.eater.com/archives/2013/11/ ... r_comments
http://m.ny.eater.com/archives/2013/11/ ... r_comments
Anyone know where to buy the willlsberger line of Spiegelau in the USA?
The company is making it as hard as possible to find them.
There is the willlsberger anniversary series but I'm looking for the original willlsberger line.
I've got the hybrid burgundy glasses but they are so oversized as to be excessive…
The company is making it as hard as possible to find them.
There is the willlsberger anniversary series but I'm looking for the original willlsberger line.
I've got the hybrid burgundy glasses but they are so oversized as to be excessive…
Is this the one you mean? It's the hand-blown series. They claim the Burgundy and white wine models are in stock and can ship in 24 hrs.
U.S. office is based in Dover, Delaware, but obviously will send. I think Royal Design's home office is in Sweden, which may mean they can source backup supplies--for instance, I see many U.K. sites carrying Willsberger.
UPDATE: I was not aware of this merchant until your query, UC. I see that they also carry the full stemmed Spiegelau Authentis line, which had also become very difficult to find, and list almost all models as in stock, so I'm updating my earlier post, though I know this line is not what you were seeking.
U.S. office is based in Dover, Delaware, but obviously will send. I think Royal Design's home office is in Sweden, which may mean they can source backup supplies--for instance, I see many U.K. sites carrying Willsberger.
UPDATE: I was not aware of this merchant until your query, UC. I see that they also carry the full stemmed Spiegelau Authentis line, which had also become very difficult to find, and list almost all models as in stock, so I'm updating my earlier post, though I know this line is not what you were seeking.
^^^^
Thanks for this.
Yes, they have the Spiegelau willsberger and at $25-per glass, that's pretty good.
I like the Hybrid because the glass is so thin yet pretty tough - I haven't broken any yet.
But I wonder, and perhaps you connoisseurs will know … is there really any difference that glass shape makes-white wine, Bordeaux, burgundy - to the enjoyment of the wine?
Is Bordeaux better in a Bordeaux shaped glass than a Burgundy glasse?
I am skeptical.
Thanks for this.
Yes, they have the Spiegelau willsberger and at $25-per glass, that's pretty good.
I like the Hybrid because the glass is so thin yet pretty tough - I haven't broken any yet.
But I wonder, and perhaps you connoisseurs will know … is there really any difference that glass shape makes-white wine, Bordeaux, burgundy - to the enjoyment of the wine?
Is Bordeaux better in a Bordeaux shaped glass than a Burgundy glasse?
I am skeptical.
Dear Uppercase,uppercase wrote: But I wonder, and perhaps you connoisseurs will know … is there really any difference that glass shape makes-white wine, Bordeaux, burgundy - to the enjoyment of the wine?
Is Bordeaux better in a Bordeaux shaped glass than a Burgundy glasse?
I am skeptical.
there is quite a difference, yes - because Burgundy and Bordeaux are fundamentally different wines made from different grapes. Ideally, the glass should support a wine variety and help the wine to shine and show its full potential.
Being rather pragmatic, I would say that investing in an expensive set of corresponding glasses also requires investing in wines that really deserve such treatment. 80 to 90% of all wines are mass products and won't be worth it. For most people, a standard white wine glass, perhaps 2 types of glasses for red wines plus champagne glasses will do.
Riedel for instance has put a lot of research in finding "the perfect shape" for different wine varieties. They came up with some surprising shapes (look at their Sauternes glass, but also the single malt as an example).
Cheers, David
Agree with David. Just to add that it's not all mystification, or arbitrary. Just as the chemical aromatic and flavor components that gave rise to winespeak about violets or petrol or stewed plums or barnyards continue to be isolated in both wines and the corresponding sources of the analogies, there are some empirical factors that contribute to the glass pairings.
For instance, a glass with a wider bowl exposes more surface area of the wine to air. So more of the volatile aromatic components can be released into the air in the glass. Thus a wine with a more delicate, if exquisite, bouquet will benefit, other things being equal, so long as the bouquet is contained by the incurving glass and not allowed to dissipate. On the other hand, a wider bowl will oxidize the wine faster (assuming one doesn't drink it first) so it may change more in the glass and some wines on the borderline of ovematurity may "fall apart" more quickly. A wider bowl will also allow room heat to affect the wine more quickly.
People have different preferences in shapes for particular wines and vintages, but factors such as those above have suggested rules of thumb that result in classes like the "Burgundy balloon" or a claret glass. Most white wines are drunk young and fresh, so they have relatively few secondary aromatic components due to reactions during bottle aging, and they are meant to be consumed cool. So it stands to reason that the "generic" white wine glass is smaller, with a narrower bowl, to help the wine stay cooler before it's completely consumed, and there's no real benefit to particularly wide surface area in the bowl. But some complex whites that do age well show much better in a slightly larger and more open glass.
As you can imagine, the scale of the glass can skew the logic above; you might think some claret glasses are so large that the exposed surface of the wine is as wide or wider than in a more modestly scaled Burgundy glass. And that's true. But the point of these very large glasses is to supercharge the ability to perceive the aromatics of a great and complex wine. They collect them in volume (allowing vigorous swirling without sloshing) and then funnel them in a concentrated way to the nose, which is meant to fit inside the rim. They often look out of scale on a domestic dinner party table, and as David says, they are overkill for a great many wines. But if you have a powerful top-flight cabernet-based claret or meritage from a very good year with 15 or 20 years in the bottle, appropriate decanting and service in something like the Riedel Sommelier or Spiegelau Willsberger or Authentis Bordeaux glasses will make for the most intense and specific sensations and appreciation. Note, as Slewfoot observed earlier (I think this is especially true for the Riedel Sommelier series Burgundy glass) that this can go too far—a more delicate wine may simply not be able to fill a too-large glass with enough aromatics to achieve any real concentration (or avoid dilution). The Authentis, like many lines, has both a "red wine" glass and a "Bordeaux" glass with a very similar shape, differing mainly in scale. So I save the larger one for wines I expect to be either extremely powerful (i.e., fulfill the cliché "to leap out of the glass") or extremely complex or distinctive (with adequate liveliness).
It's also worth trying various glasses with wines from different grapes or blends and different producing regions around the world. Individual wines—or even bottles—sometimes call out for specific shapes, once you've had some experience with their effects on similar wines. With a little search-engine exercise you can find glassware lines with specific shapes for New World malbecs, or Chianti classicos, etc. and that may be suggestive. But as with dress, take them as a starting point and see what works for you, and what yields an adequate wardrobe for your needs and space. I find, for instance that the Authentis champagne glass (sort of a sharper, lower-hipped tulip shape) actually works really well for vintage port.
Kind of like wearing hats and cravates—do the testing, trust your own conclusions and damn what anybody else thinks.
For instance, a glass with a wider bowl exposes more surface area of the wine to air. So more of the volatile aromatic components can be released into the air in the glass. Thus a wine with a more delicate, if exquisite, bouquet will benefit, other things being equal, so long as the bouquet is contained by the incurving glass and not allowed to dissipate. On the other hand, a wider bowl will oxidize the wine faster (assuming one doesn't drink it first) so it may change more in the glass and some wines on the borderline of ovematurity may "fall apart" more quickly. A wider bowl will also allow room heat to affect the wine more quickly.
People have different preferences in shapes for particular wines and vintages, but factors such as those above have suggested rules of thumb that result in classes like the "Burgundy balloon" or a claret glass. Most white wines are drunk young and fresh, so they have relatively few secondary aromatic components due to reactions during bottle aging, and they are meant to be consumed cool. So it stands to reason that the "generic" white wine glass is smaller, with a narrower bowl, to help the wine stay cooler before it's completely consumed, and there's no real benefit to particularly wide surface area in the bowl. But some complex whites that do age well show much better in a slightly larger and more open glass.
As you can imagine, the scale of the glass can skew the logic above; you might think some claret glasses are so large that the exposed surface of the wine is as wide or wider than in a more modestly scaled Burgundy glass. And that's true. But the point of these very large glasses is to supercharge the ability to perceive the aromatics of a great and complex wine. They collect them in volume (allowing vigorous swirling without sloshing) and then funnel them in a concentrated way to the nose, which is meant to fit inside the rim. They often look out of scale on a domestic dinner party table, and as David says, they are overkill for a great many wines. But if you have a powerful top-flight cabernet-based claret or meritage from a very good year with 15 or 20 years in the bottle, appropriate decanting and service in something like the Riedel Sommelier or Spiegelau Willsberger or Authentis Bordeaux glasses will make for the most intense and specific sensations and appreciation. Note, as Slewfoot observed earlier (I think this is especially true for the Riedel Sommelier series Burgundy glass) that this can go too far—a more delicate wine may simply not be able to fill a too-large glass with enough aromatics to achieve any real concentration (or avoid dilution). The Authentis, like many lines, has both a "red wine" glass and a "Bordeaux" glass with a very similar shape, differing mainly in scale. So I save the larger one for wines I expect to be either extremely powerful (i.e., fulfill the cliché "to leap out of the glass") or extremely complex or distinctive (with adequate liveliness).
It's also worth trying various glasses with wines from different grapes or blends and different producing regions around the world. Individual wines—or even bottles—sometimes call out for specific shapes, once you've had some experience with their effects on similar wines. With a little search-engine exercise you can find glassware lines with specific shapes for New World malbecs, or Chianti classicos, etc. and that may be suggestive. But as with dress, take them as a starting point and see what works for you, and what yields an adequate wardrobe for your needs and space. I find, for instance that the Authentis champagne glass (sort of a sharper, lower-hipped tulip shape) actually works really well for vintage port.
Kind of like wearing hats and cravates—do the testing, trust your own conclusions and damn what anybody else thinks.
Elucidating read, as I have come to expect from you gentlemen.
So, through glass selection you are essentially dressing the wine so that it shows to best effect.
So, through glass selection you are essentially dressing the wine so that it shows to best effect.
In truly professional tastings a single size and shape of glass is used and, in some cases, permitted. It is called the INAO standard glass. The idea is that if every tester, in a competition, uses the same glass then the effects of the glass on the wine will be uniform. (That is how serious the shape of a glass is taken.)
You can have a lot of fun with this. Take three shapes of Riedel glass, add wine and ask your friends which wine they like the best. After they have tasted and extolled the virtues of one or another, tell them the wine in the glasses was all the same. Watch the jaws drop.
Cheers
You can have a lot of fun with this. Take three shapes of Riedel glass, add wine and ask your friends which wine they like the best. After they have tasted and extolled the virtues of one or another, tell them the wine in the glasses was all the same. Watch the jaws drop.
Cheers
In line with that bit of fun, the next time you open a young(ish), white burgundy from a top producer, pour it into your Bordeaux glass and watch it evolve. You may be surprised what you get out of it.
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