RIEDEL glasses
“the finest tools for wine lovers”

RIEDEL glasses are the automatic choice for successful wine tastings. RIEDEL glasses are used at all FICOFI tastings and the same is true for almost all quality domaines and châteaux in the best wine growing regions.

RIEDEL glasses were designed to refine the qualities of a wine, while other tasting glasses have exactly the opposite effect of bringing out the defects. At the end of the fifties Professor RIEDEL, father of Georg RIEDEL the current President of the crystal business, was the first glass designer to demonstrate the influence that the shape of a glass can have on the taster’s perception of a wine. Based on these findings RIEDEL developed several types of glasses.

For example, if a wine is highly tannic the glass should create harmony between tannin and acidity, whereas if a wine has high acidity the glass should highlight the fruit and balance the acidity. This is how the Bordeaux Grand Cru glass was designed with the intention of directing the wine to the part of the tongue that detects sweetness, thereby attenuating any tannic acidity, while the Sauternes glass accentuates the typical “apricot” taste of these wines and harmonises their exquisite sweetness.

Here are the opinions of two of the world’s greatest wine experts concerning RIEDEL glasses:

Robert Parker : "The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by the Riedel Company. The effect of these glasses on fine wines is profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make".

Michel Bettane : "The RIEDEL range is a big success. The glasses allow wines to express themselves freely and to see them dancing in the glass is a real pleasure. Their contribution to olfactive impact is incomparable".

RIEDEL also produces spirits glasses such as the Malt Whisky glass which was designed with the help of the greatest Scottish distilleries. The curve of the glass directs the alcohol to the tip of the tongue which is sugar-sensitive thereby bringing out the elegant softness of the best malt whiskies.