Anyone used them? Pretty big claims by the designer.
http://www.winegls.com/product/
They look interesting, but it doesn’t seem like a lot of people have used them. I was mainly wondering how thin is the lip? How does it compare to Zalto and Riedel Vinum XL or better?
No affiliation, don’t own any, just curious. Only found a single comment doing a search here.
Very good glass, the regular version is quite thick but easy to handle while the hand crafted gold version is very thin and light. It’s a great multi purpose glass and better imo as the Zalto or Vinum version, perhaps slightly outclassed by the much more expensive Riedel Sommelier glasses if you use the specialised version for the chosen variety. But as a multi purpose glass diffuícult to beat imo. It was invented by the Swiss critic Rene Gabriel one of the leading German speaking Bordeaux wine critics.
No affiliation as well, beside reading his online newsletter ( Bordeaux Total ) and using the glasses for about a year.
Thanks for your thoughts, Rainer.
I think I’m talking about the machine made glass. Is it “thick” compared to the Zalto and higher end Riedels?
Chris,
I think if we talk about the Vinum glasses I think ( haven’t measured it ) the Gabriel is slightly thinner while compared to Zalto it’s a bit thicker. But my experience with Zalto is limited compared to Riedel. I always preferred Riedel esp. for Burgundy. I like it because it is robust and something for everyday drinking, esp. when you drink white & red and want to use the same glass.
Cheers
Rainer
Saison restaurant in San Francisco uses the Gabriel Glas. I think it shows well there across the pairings.
My consideration was to use these as a white wine glass - chardonnay, both Burgundy and New World - most of the time. I have stems I love for red wines. But, I definitely don’t want them if they are not pretty thin as I already have adequate options there.
Very good universal usable glass as Rainer explained. It´s my standard glass for a few month now and I am very satisfied.
First time post; long time lurker. I started using these glasses a few months ago and I like them a lot. They are noticeably thinner and lighter-weight than Riedel Vinum, Spiegelau Vino Grande, and Spiegelau Hybrid. I have no experience with Zalto so cannot compare to them. I use them for everything: reds, whites, sparklers, and dessert wines.
Btw, I have the machine-made ones, not the hand-blown. I did order a single hand-blown for comparison and to me they seemed virtually identical, so I went with the less expensive option.
Thanks Dan and Jurgen! Very helpful information - especially Dan’s comparison between the machine made and hand blown ones. It appears they have a much bigger presence across Europe as compared with N. America - which is logical.
From my experience there are a big differences between hand and machine made versions. The hand made version weighs about half of the machine made and is recognizable thinner. Don’t know how it is in the US, but you should feel the difference in your hand at least.
Yes, it´s true. There is a significant difference between the two types. The hand made version is ultra light and it´s beautiful. But the wine doesn´t taste better IMHO. The shape of the glass is responsible for the tasting impression, not the weight and the thickness of the material. If money is no issue buy the hand made glasses. If you are price sensitive the machine made ones are fine enough. IMO. But I know people who swear that the wine tastes better in the hand made glass. I believe this is a myth but you have to test it by your own. Maybe my senses are just not sharp enough to see the difference. Who knows.
From my experience there are a big differences between hand and machine made versions.
Yes, it´s true. There is a significant difference between the two types. The hand made version is ultra light and it´s beautiful.
Odd, Jurgen and Rainer, because the hand made glass that I received , if anything, may have even been a tad heavier than the machine-made one. Maybe they shipped me a machine-made one by mistake?
Chris, the other thing I would point out, if you’re planning on trying these, do not buy the multi-packed glasses (they come in a 6-pack, and a 2-pack, I believe). I first purchased them in the 6-pack but it’s packed in such as way that the glasses are bumping against one another in transit and arrived to me with deep scratches. Two shipments arrived to me like this. I ended up buying 6 individually packed glasses and had no issues with their condition. Also, this way, each glass comes in a nice, reusable, cardboard box so you can transport and store them easily and safely.
DanMC, this is odd indeed because I can assure you that the hand made glass should definitely be lighter and thinner than the machine type. Otherwise you got not the same product as we in Germany/Europe.
I will send an Email to René tomorrow and will report about his response.
I just had an exchange with René by Email and he was very clear: The handmade glass is significantly lighter and thinner than the machine made glass. Error impossible.
I checked the weight yesterday: handmade = 95 g machine made = 170 g
I am tempted to order another of the “handmade” ones just to check (I returned the one I received because there was an imperfection in the rim). I did not weigh them when I had both of them, so I am just going on my memory of what it felt like in my hand. I am not sure if I have a fine enough scale, but if I do, I will weigh the machine made glasses I have and report back here.
We have been using the machine-made as our tasting glass in-store for several months now. They work very well and have an elegant design. Many of our Austrian producers use these in their tasting facilities and that is how we became aware of them.