Vino Veritas

I enjoy receiving questions from readers. 

What do a 3-inch square disk, stemware bling, an international political economist and the mountains of New Mexico have in common?

It’s that time of year again. All forms of media, from local grocery store leaflets to national network morning shows, are offering tips to help us make this year’s Thanksgiving feast better than ever.

I frequently get asked for wine recommendations and am always happy to oblige. Most people I talk to are “just looking for a few different, good, affordable, easy-to-find bottles.”

Last weekend I was stuck in a seemingly unending line for the lone bar at an afternoon garden party.

Last week at a tasting, I discovered a wine that really speaks to me. I purchased a few bottles on the spot and returned home anxious to share it with my wife.

Spring is a reliably beautiful season on Capitol Hill.

This month marks the five-year anniversary of this column. The occasion reminds me how much the world changed in that relatively short amount of time. Consider that in March 2006, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was several months away from announcing his presidential candidacy and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was ahead in the early polls to be the Republican nominee.

There have not  been many bright spots in the tenuous economy of the past few years. Collectively and individually we’ve had to make sacrifices and do more with less. However, one encouraging trend for consumers emerging in the mending marketplace is the growth and availability of quality mid-priced wines.

If there were a line of products that enhanced the flavor of everything you tasted with no ill impact on your health, and was widely available for purchase, inexpensive, effortless to use, simple to maintain and never stopped working, wouldn’t it be at the top of your holiday gift wish list?

Such magical items do exist, and I am always equally excited to give and receive them. In that spirit, my gift to you this festive season is an introduction to the historic and cutting-edge world of Riedel stemware.

The story, beginning in 1678 with the birth of Johann Christian Riedel (pronounced REE-del) in what was then Austrian Bohemia, is one of tradition, survival and innovation told through 11 generations (and counting) of the world’s leader in the luxurious art of glassmaking.

In the late 1950s, after hundreds of years of making whatever the market and fashion demanded (buttons, jewelry, medical beakers, etc.) the family business’s ninth-generation leader, Claus Riedel, took the company in a new, much more limited direction. He started to produce glasses that at the time were a design revolution: simple bowl, stem and glass. Claus was the first to recognize that the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wines are greatly affected by the shape of the glass from which they are drunk.

Working with experienced tasters, Claus Riedel discovered that wine enjoyed from his glasses showed more depth and better balance than when served in other glasses. He laid the groundwork for stemware that was functional as well as beautiful, and made it according to the Bauhaus design principle: Form follows function. Riedel’s lines are so widely recognized for their artistry that they are included in the Museum of Modern Art’s Architecture and Design Collection.

Riedel now masters a complex design process that dictates the flow and delivery of a wine to the precise location on your palate where it will be optimally received. Or, to put it more simply, a Riedel glass will make your $12 Chardonnay taste like a $25 Chardonnay.

Blind taste tests have been conducted far and wide and consistently result in the same conclusion: the design of Riedel glasses improves the overall sensory qualities (smell and taste) of a wine compared against the same wine tasted in other glasses.

I should note some of the more rigid members of the scientific community still question the validity of the “tongue-map” Riedel uses as a targeted landing zone for its glass architecture. I don’t know anything about the anatomical modalities that combine to sense taste, but I can tell you, without exception, that every time I drink from a Riedel, the wine is better — and I am happier.

Don’t just take my word for it. Robert Parker, one of the world’s foremost wine critics, is also a Riedel loyalist. 

“The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The effect of these glasses on wine is profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make,” Parker told The Wine Advocate.

The company now produces 11 series of wine glasses and hundreds of other glasses, each built to bring out the best qualities of every grape varietal on the planet. It also makes glasses for spirits, beer and water with equally purposeful design and precision.

Riedel groups its series into three price categories: Competitive, $10 per stem; Moderate, $25-40 per stem; and Exclusive, $120 per stem. Prices are based on craftsmanship (machine vs. hand-blown) and content (percent of lead crystal). The less expensive glasses are appropriate for everyday drinking, but Riedel’s magic isn’t revealed until prospective buyers venture into the Moderate category. Do a comparison yourself; it’s an entertaining cocktail or dinner-party pursuit.

If you have a wine drinker on your shopping list, from a casual beginner to a serious snob (are you listening, friends and family?), go with Riedel, a gift that truly keeps on giving.

Derek M. LaVallee, director of public relations and public affairs at KG Partners and certified wine buff, can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .