During Berserker days I decided to try two different types of Grassl glasses thanks to Chris’ generous offer. I have tried wines from Zalto glasses before and loved them, but just couldn’t pull the trigger because of the price and fear that they would instantly shatter in my big, clumsy meathooks. I have been using both the Liberte and the Cru glasses for a couple of weeks now and just had to report that I think they are fantastic. I’ve used the Liberte for mostly whites and rosés, and a couple of sparklers, and they really seem to accentuate the mineral, spice, and floral notes of different wines. The Cru glasses have been used for a variety of wines of all colors, and seem to work really well as as all-purpose glass and they also bring out an earthiness in reds, while not hiding the fruit. Even a simple Alsatian Edelzwicker just exploded in this glass, with the oily, floral notes of the Gewurz poppping from the glass.
I’ve been comparing both glasses with the various Riedel Vinum and Spiegelau glasses that I’ve been using, and in each case the wine was different, and better from the Grassl glass, without it feeling like the wine was being manipulated in any way…it just seems purer. One of the signs of a really nice glass, to me, is not just how it works with fantastic wines, but how it works with the everyday wines on a Tuesday night, and both glasses excel in this regard. They also seem to have excellent balance and just feel “right” in my hand with about 5-6 ounces of wine in them. My old Riedel glasses feel heavy now. I’ve also noticed that they really seem to shed water and dry quickly (I have been hand washing them), and don’t seem to accumulate water spots as much as the other glasses. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, and whether the makeup of the glass is different, but it’s a nice bonus. I don’t have a lot of extra room for glassware, but I’m having a hard time not using these glasses every night, so I might have to relegate some of the older glasses to the garage in the future. Thanks Chris!
I’ve been super happy with the Grassl 1855 and Cru. I would second the comments from Marshall’s post as well, that is a pretty thorough review and mirrors many of my experiences.
Thanks Chris for great customer service and participating in BD.
Got my first Grassls this past BD and have been incredibly impressed. I’ve put every wine I’ve opened in them and have always preferred them over my Vinums. Once you’ve held and used a Grasssl, even a Riedel Vinum seems big and clunky. Great offer, great service and great stems!
I like my new Grassl Tasting glasses a lot. But I have to say that I’m a bit skeptical about whether any glass – once you get past a certain level of thin, relatively flat rim – accentuates particular qualities, or is better across the board.
Every couple of years, I buy some new glasses because I like their look and feel. And, for a while, all wines seem to taste better out of them. I love the experience! But I’ve come to think that in part it’s just the change of pace. Similarly, I used to find that when I bought a new lens or a new camera, I had a burst of photographic creativity.
With glasses, I can’t help suspecting that the Hawthorne Effect may be at work. That was Western Electric’s experiment nearly a century ago with the effect of raising and lowering the light levels in one of their factories. Sure enough, productivity rose when they increased lighting. But it turned out that productivity also rose when they reduced the lighting. It seemed like change was more important than the direction of change.