The wine tastes better to me in Zagreb than in my own cellar, said Elvis Visintin, a winemaker at the Capo winery in Brtonigla, Istria, as he tasted his Sauvignon from a Riedel glass at the Baltazar restaurant in Zagreb in early December 2011.
The Rolls-Royce of glasses
Just how much truth there is to those words was demonstrated a few days earlier at the Wine and Culinary Festival VinoCom held at The Regent Esplanade hotel in Zagreb by Kornel Dura. He was te regional sales manager for the Austrian company Riedel, a brand that holds the same status in the world of wine glasses as Rolls-Royce does among automobiles.
Four wines were served: a young Coronica Malvazija, a full-bodied and powerful five-year-old Batič Chardonnay, a fresh and fruity Galić Pinot Noir, and a four-year-old Roxanich Cabernet Sauvignon. Five glasses awaited us on the table.
The red wine glass holds an entire bottle
Four of them were Riedel glasses: a classic white wine glass intended for Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs, a wide one for aged Chardonnays, a large tulip-shaped glass for Pinot Noirs that narrows and then flares out at the rim, and a classic Cabernet Sauvignon glass capable of holding eight deciliters of wine, more than a full bottle. Of course, one doesn't pour that much, but mature red wines need air for their aromas to develop. The fifth was a wildcard glass, a standard stemmed made of thicker glass, the one which was used in most restaurants.
We poured the wine from glass to glass and discovered that young Malvazija tastes best in a Riesling or Sauvignon glass, whereas in a glass designed for oak-aged Chardonnay, it completely lost its freshness. Similarly, Pinot Noir was bursting with fruit flavors in a wider, shorter glass, but in a larger yet narrower one, it rushed across the palate lacking both freshness and fruitiness.
The wrong glass masks aroma and flavor
In a generic joker glass, all the wines seemed ordinary, whereas in their proper glasses, their qualities shone through: Malvazija displayed freshness, Chardonnay showed fullness, notes of honey, wax, smoke, and creaminess, even a taste of heavy cream, Pinot Noir exhibited fruitiness and Cabernet Sauvignon revealed pleasant, rounded tannins, maturity, and aromas of prune, leather, tobacco and mint. In the wrong glasses, each wine lost some of the very characteristics that would make one want to savor it.
Good wine should be enjoyed with loved ones; it should be served at the right temperature, ideally decanted, and poured into the proper glass. The glass determines the taste and aroma, it is a tool for enjoying the wine, noted Kornel Dura.
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter
The shape of the glass is also dictated by the taste buds on our tongue. The sensation of sweetness is perceived at the tip of the tongue; saltiness just behind that, in the middle; sourness along the sides; and bitterness at the back. For Chardonnay, which generally has lower acidity, a wide glass should be chosen. This directs the wine toward the sides of the tongue, allowing us to perceive more acidity than is actually present, thereby making the wine taste fresher.
The almost three-century-long story of glasses is also told in the book Heart of Glass – Riedel and the Art of Taste, which is sold in Croatia by Miva wine gallery. In addition to the history from the first family glass factory in Bohemia to its status as a synonym for functional and designer premium glass, the book presents Riedel's impressive current portfolio, from iconic wine glasses shaped according to individual grape varieties to glasses for sake, tequila, cocktails and other drinks.
The price of the book is 69 euros
Special attention is paid to the philosophy according to which the shape of the glass is not only a matter of aesthetics, but a key element in the experience of taste and smell. The price of the book is 69 euros..