Comments on: Varietal stemware: genius or hucksterism?

By: Lijaha

Lijaha — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:29:03 +0000

Having done a tasting with Riedel stemware, I was converted. The same wine differed markedly in taste from one glass to another. There was little or no suggestion involved (the person leading the tasting being massively hungover and somewhat monosyllabic) and I was sceptical to start with. I also do not pride myself on my nose but the differences were not subtle - quite the opposite.
I note most anti comments seem to be from those who haven’t done the tasting.
Of course, whether it’s tongue mapping or smell is another thing entirely. I respect the opinion of those who discount tongue-mapping. One for more research.
Having met Georg Riedel, I dispute that he is a huckster. He firmly believes in his product and he brings his own glasses to restaurants. And it is a great, handmade product - 40 per cent of the factory’s lead crystal glasses are rejected at quality control, though I was told: ‘Look long enough at any glass and you’ll see a flaw.’

By: The Plonks Guide to Becoming a Snob | Wine Country

The Plonks Guide to Becoming a Snob | Wine Country — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:33:46 +0000

[...] this has been the cause of great debate among aficionados as many believe it is hucksterism, while others believe it to be the elite among wine [...]

By: Some interesting views from fellow bloggers | The Cru

Some interesting views from fellow bloggers | The Cru — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:09:18 +0000

[...] Varietal stemware: genius or hucksterism? - Dr. Vino [...]

By: Paul Sharp

Paul Sharp — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:53:30 +0000

This is a great post for provoking comment. It seems that from the comments there is a consensus that the glasses do nothing to affect the taste and that the those who have commented do not believe that it is possible to affect the taste of wine or if that is true any liquid by the altering the physical shape of the vessel that you consume it from.
However I doubt anyone here would want to drink there from a coffee cup.

Where’s the good Doctor stand on this?

By: Arthur

Arthur — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:32:26 +0000

If I remember correctly from an article I read about this, Riedel did not originate the Oregon Pinot noir glass. Rather, it was produced at the urging of that state’s wine growers’/makers’ association.

All that aside, bowl size and profile do quite a lot for aromatic expression but nothing for a wine’s taste.

By: Alder

Alder — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:37:59 +0000

Different shaped wine glasses can make a huge difference in the way a wine smells in my experience, but having attended the same “roadshow” described by BlindMuscat above, I can say they seem to have a minimal impact on the way wine tastes.

The “changes where and how the wine hits the tongue” line is total bullshit. When you take a sip of wine it almost instantly floods your entire mouth cavity because that is the way your physiology evolved to take liquid into the mouth — in such a way that it is exposed to the majority of your tastebuds as quickly as possible. Presumably this is to help us identify when things taste bad so we can spit them out before we swallow them and they kill us.

Now, the one grey area here is the fact that we only taste 5 things (salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and Umami) but we perceive many more flavors than that because much of tasting is olfactory. So does the glass affect the aromas that we sense when a wine is tasting like blackberry? I’d argue no because most of those aromas are sensed through the ducts that connect our mouth cavity with our sinuses, which the glass has nothing to do with. But since glasses can clearly change our perception of aromas, there may be something at work here.

By: Weekly wine update from Sour Grapes a blog about wine in Ireland

Weekly wine update from Sour Grapes a blog about wine in Ireland — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:06:53 +0000

[...] Varietal stemware: genius or hucksterism? [...]

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:55:19 +0000

In the same vein, Seth Goldin’s piece “A good story makes the product better” about Riedel - my May 8, 2005 posting here: http://www.danperlman.net/what.htm

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:22:13 +0000

I agree this is getting to the point of ridiculous with such specific glasses. I have to imagine that the container just being glass with a pleasant thin lip and narrowing at the top is a plus to allow the consumer to detect the nose of the wine, Anything above this effort is a bit suspect and worth verifying in a blind tasting. I asked my readers this question a week or so ago, so if you’ve tried using the oregon pinot glass, come by and comment.

By: monkuwino

monkuwino — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:39:41 +0000

I agree with GPL’s comment above - sometimes hucksterism is the same as genius. In fact, you have to be pretty smart to be a good huckster.. that’s why the folks at the Wine Spectator are geniuses with the way they market their Top 100 wine list each year. Like the Riedel glass, looking at point scores also can have the effect of creating a lot of suggestibility among people, I’d say.

By: James Rodewald

James Rodewald — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:14:08 +0000

I wish more of you could read Zwerdling’s article. Nothing in it says that when you go to a Riedel tasting you won’t find the wines markedly different in different glasses. It’s the reason for the differences that is addressed. It’s obviously not because the glass directs the wine to the proper spot on the tongue (the so-called tongue-map was long ago disproved, though journalists still cite it, much to my irritation). Rather, it is because we are so suggestible. That’s also why when you read a wine review that starts off, “I sat down with the winemaker” you should probably grab some salt grains. There is no SCIENCE that shows that the glass makes a difference, but there have been plenty of experiments that show that perception can make a huge difference, and perception is highly malleable. Putting food coloring in white wine can make even experienced tasters perceive it as red. Does that make them bad tasters? No, it just shows that tasting is done with more organs than the tongue.

By: Benito

Benito — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:38:27 +0000

I’ve got a lot of mismatched crystal, consisting of gifts, freebies from tastings, and one-offs I’ve purchased for fun. Lately I’m enjoying big pinot noir glasses for red wine tasting. And nobody aside from me is allowed to touch my Riedel Champagne glass.

What really gets me is the Riedel water glass line. Seriously, does it make any difference? I’ve been backpacking and had to strain the mosquito eggs out of the water before purifying it with iodine crystals and I then drank the water out of a plastic bowl. At the time it was the most amazing thing I’d ever drunk because I was thirsty and had another ten miles to hike through the Rockies.

I do appreciate good stemware, for aesthetic and oenological reasons, but I don’t see any need to obsess over it or blow a ton of cash.

By: Blind Muscat

Blind Muscat — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:50:43 +0000

My breakthrough moment in the world of Riedelism came at one of company’s many roadshow tastings a few years back. The Riedelista led us through several wines that went in and out of the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Burgundy and Bordeaux glasses. And it was all very impressive — the different shapes did indeed taste different.

At the end, after telling us where we could buy a lot more glassware, she pointed out that, by the way, as of the following Tuesday, what we had been testing as the Sauvignon Blanc glass would henceforth be the Gewurtztraminer glass, and a new Sauvignon model would be issued.

So much for varietal correctness.

By: Laura Conway

Laura Conway — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:41:48 +0000

I also own a cabinet full of glasses, but chose the “meh” response. I think it’s fun to try the various glass sizes, but don’t think its necessary to invest in a whole collection. Using good crystal has an important aesthetic appeal but can get prohibitively expensive. I did attend one of the Riedel seminars in SF and was largely convinced of the differences, but in retrospect I wonder how much I was being convinced by their marketing pull.

By: monkuwino

monkuwino — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:27:21 +0000

I think there is a difference between the shapes when they are very dissimilar. For example, tasting something in the giant grand cru Burgundy sommelier stem is going to be a difference experience than using a riesling stem - not only due to the volume but also that the flare on the Burgundy stem does affect the initial impression of the wine when you taste it. But overall it gets ridiculous trying to be so precise since wines range so much in character even within the same varietal/region so what’s the point?

That said, I still love Riedel because the glasses look so good. To me that enhances the wine-drinking experience more than trying to find that perfect shape that he keeps trying to sell us. I just love drinking out of an attractive glass!

I think sampling with various Riedel shapes would make for a good WLTV segment with Gary Vaynerchuk.