Riedel Glassware Wine Tasting

By Nikki Berglund
Staff Writer

As much as I love the topic of wine and everything relating to it, once in awhile I find myself getting a little bored. Some weeks I sample so many different wines at my store that they all start blending together. I really needed a spark, and the recently held Georg Riedel Vinum XL Glass Tasting turned out to be just what I was looking for.

When I heard about the Riedel tasting at the Ramada, it immediately piqued my interest. For those unfamiliar with Riedel, it is a brand of Austrian glassware, recognized worldwide as being one of the best in the business. The Riedel family has been creating luxury glass for over 250 years.

About fifty years ago, Claus Riedel set about using the Bauhaus design principle (form follows function) to invent glassware that was both beautiful and functional. He recognized that different wine characteristics are affected by the shape of the glass and set out to create a perfect vessel for each individual grape. There are currently around 300 different shapes and sizes of Riedel glasses, with different levels of both quality and price.

This event, a collaboration between the Ramada Inn and Happy Harry’s, turned out to be quite a value at $85 per ticket. While the Ramada provided the delicious appetizers, any additional glassware could be ordered and purchased through Happy Harry’s at a discounted price if you attended the tasting.

With this $85 ticket price, I was first treated to a pre party, and then the actual tasting event. Perhaps the biggest perk though, was taking home my own beautiful set of Vinum XL tasting glasses which included a Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon glass—the four glasses used in the demonstration portion of the evening.

Before we walked into the room where the pre party was being held, we were advised to get our fill because there was to be absolutely no food or beverage allowed into the tasting room. After a long day at work, this seemed a little harsh but we hastily made the rounds.

The appetizers and Piper Heidsieck Champagne, courtesy of the Ramada, were both delicious and we made sure to load up and drink up. Although the rules seemed a little strict, the reasoning behind them became clear as we sat down at our individual tasting areas where the four meticulously-filled wine-specific glasses left no room for messy food plates.

Georg Riedel is a tenth generation family member under whose direction Riedel has become the
world’s leading glassware company. Although we had originally giggled at the strict rules of the tasting, which also included absolutely no photos or videos (sorry about that, Kensie), we quickly learned that this guy meant business. His passion for his product was evident and as a speaker he transferred this passion to his audience. When he spoke of “fireworks on the back of your tongue,” you could really feel those fireworks!

At one point some poor soul in the front row (bad idea lady) decided to take a sip of her wine when (God forbid!) we were still in the smelling part of the demonstration. She was promptly reprimanded by Georg. I felt a little bad for her, but at this point I think everyone was just relieved that it wasn’t them!

The first wine of the demonstration, the Eroica Riesling, really set the tone for what was in store for us. Because Riesling has a simple flavor profile, it was a great starter wine to help distinguish between the individual characteristics brought out by the shape of each glass.

We would test the difference in glasses by pouring the wine from one glass into another, utilizing a fifth “dummy” cup. At this point I was relieved I hadn’t indulged in too much Champagne because while super interesting, it did start to get a little confusing.

After this came the Chardonnay glass with the slightly more complicated Mer Soleil Chardonnay as its guinea pig. Again the same experiment was conducted and the results were equally
fascinating.

My biggest epiphany of the evening came from the Pinot Noir glass. This might sound sacrilegious to some wine snobs out there, but I am not a huge fan of Pinot Noir. Yes, I said it and you can judge me if you choose! To me, it is a little on the light side and although it goes great with virtually all food, I just don’t really love it.

Well, as it turns out, I have been drinking it out of the wrong glass! It was incredible how different the Erath Pinot Noir from Washington State tasted in the tulip-shaped glass, which I have always known the purpose of but never owned. Although I don’t know if I will start drinking a ton of
Pinot Noir, at least I know what glass to drink it out of if I do.

Last but not least was the Cabernet Sauvignon glass demonstrated using the classic Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Of the four glasses that came in our tasting set, this was my very favorite! It is huge, holding a whopping 920ml (!!!) of wine per glass. As a reference, an entire wine bottle is only 750ml, making this the glass I covet the most.

Speaking of maybe indulging in too much Champagne…my single complaint about this wonderful evening was the two women we had the pleasure of sitting in front of. During the entire tasting, they could not shut up!! I suspect that along with too much bubbly, they may also have had some sort of a hookup and didn’t actually pay the $85 for their tickets since they were obviously not there to learn, but rather to gossip and giggle. I did hear them contribute once, with an ignorant sounding remark of “I don’t like tannins.” which if overheard by Georg, may have caused him to throw up his hands in disgust, while wondering to himself, “where the hell did they send me?!”

Thankfully Georg did not appear to notice and, as far as I could tell, received a really great response from the participants. But I would have enjoyed hearing him yell at those ridiculous women rather than the poor girl up front who just wanted a tiny sip of her wine!

Despite having a slightly scary side, Georg Riedel is not only a captivating speaker but also an amazing teacher! As someone who has immersed herself in the business and pleasure of wine for quite some years, this was the most I had learned in awhile. And I was especially grateful of the much-needed reminder that there is always more to discover about wine!

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)