Kitchen & Housewares : Riedel O Cabernet/Merlot Wine Tumblers, Set of 2

Rating: - Stemlessness has its virtues
A stemless wineglass is more stable and these are a real pleasure if you're eating outdoors. There's a price to pay, though. Since your hand is on the glass bowl, it gets fingerprints on it quickly and there's something unappetizing about a glass that has your prints on it. On balance (so to speak) these are great wine glasses and at ten bucks a piece, they're a bargain.
A great deal of your experience of wine comes from the aromas that develop in the air above the surface of the wine. A glass that forces the wine to have a large surface area for its volume and then narrows to concentrate the vapors will increase the flavor experience. Glasses with a thin lip seem to interfere less with the taste of wine than thicker (and cheaper) glasses. The shape of the glass makes a difference, too. Since we can only smell molecules that are in the air, the best wine-tasting glass is going to promote evaporation by exposing the largest possible surface area to the air. These glasses are wide at the waist and narrow at the top to get more from their wine. Does it make a difference? You bet-and in every taste test that I've been part of, Riedel glasses win hands down.

(For more information on the factors that effect the taste of wine-Storage, Air, Temperature, Food and Context, see New Short Course in Wine,The)

The wine simply tastes better in these glasses.
It shouldn't be necessary to mention that a wine glass should be clean and odorless. But sometimes restaurants, in their zeal to make their glassware clean use rinsing aids that leave behind a strong mineral smell. If you're spending a lot of money on a bottle of wine in a restaurant, sniff the empty glass first. At home, a film of grease can settle on a previously clean glass. It's no reflection on the quality of the housekeeping-cooking fats disperse in the air and settle on everything in a kitchen. An additional rinsing and a wipe with a clean towel are all you need.


Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,The and the tasty bang BANG: A Novel

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Rating: - Seems to improve the taste
I bought a set after a recommendation from a family member who works at a winery. We are not wine fantatics, but enjoy a glass every now and then. We are not well versed on wine terminology and technique, but these wine glasses just seem to make the wine taste better.

They are thin, yet strong, delicate, but tough. Beautiful to look at as well. I experimented by sipping the same wine from a Riedel, and from a cheapo I have. I don't know what contributes to the difference in flavor, the thin lip of the glass, maybe making more oxygen enter the mouth, but the flavor of the wine greatly improves. The cousin working at the winery was definitely right.

The only issue I have is they are hard to store in a good safe location for easy access, but other than that they are wonderful.

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Rating: - Great wine glass, when it ships in one piece
I've been using these glasses for 6 months and love them for casual wine drinking. They're great in that they go right into the dish washer with no problems and look beautiful coming out every time.

I recently decided to expand the collection a little bit, and ordered eight more. The purchase went through Wine Enthusiast, and I wasn't expecting any issues since I've purchased directly from them in the past. However, and I thought you all might find this entertaining, a rather thin box showed up today and was not in great shape. I picked it up to the sound of raining glass shards inside. Upon opening the box, I found both tubes (each holding 4 glasses) almost completely smashed. I've gotten the occasional broken glass in a shipment before, but this is the first time I've received an entire box of broken glass. :-) Time to go talk to Wine Enthusiast about their shipping practices.

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Rating: - the perfect shape
This glass feels nice in the hand. I have put them in the dishwashing machine twice with no problems.

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Rating: - Great Wine Glasses
I ordered 4 of these glasses after reading the reviews on Amazon. They are great! They are thin, which I really like. But, I have put them in the dishwasher several times with no problems. I agree that they don't work as well with white wines because they the wine warms too quickly without a stem to hold.