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We have been affiliated with the Riedel family for 18+ years and our partnership has flourished – we are now the largest dealer of Riedel stemware in the Southwestern United States! In addition to maintaining a large selection of Riedel’s most popular styles at every store, we have the ability to special order almost any glass that Riedel offers. We advise you to spend some time at one of our stores perusing the line with one of our Riedel specialists. There is an amazing amount of information to learn about these beautiful & technical “instruments of pleasure”. Every year we host a Riedel Tasting Seminar; perhaps the most telling and profound way to experience & validate the Riedel premise. Please check our calendar of events to see when the next one is scheduled. Below is some basic information about Riedel’s 4 most popular lines of stemware. We encourage you to visit our stores to learn more or place your order.
Sommeliers Series
In 1973, in Orvieto, Claus Riedel presented the world’s first gourmet glass series developed with the help of the Association of Italian Sommeliers (ASI). The series consisted of 10 sizes. Since then the world of wine has changed radically.
Today, regions and continents are producing wines that didn’t exist or were unknown 25 years ago. The Sommeliers series was developed further by his son Georg, into an all-embracing state-of-the-art wine glass collection.
Thanks to worldwide demand, Sommeliers is now the wineglass benchmark and the most successful series of hand-made glasses in the world. Each glass is individually made: the upper parts blown into a mould, the stem and base hand-crafted using methods developed at the time of Christ’s birth. Our glass-makers invest their talent, know-how and meticulous craftsmanship in making glasses of the impeccable quality our consumers expect. Sommeliers are executed in over 24% lead crystal.
Introduced in 1986, Vinum was the first machine-made series of glasses in history to be based exclusively on the characteristics of quality, reasonably price and wide distribution.
Vinum has had a permanent impact on the globe’s wine glass culture.
These glasses have proved to consumers and restaurateurs that the pleasure of consuming wine starts with the glass.
Vinum Extreme is the latest development in Riedel´s machine-made “Gourmet Glass Concept”. The inspiration for this development can be attributed to three factors:
The steady improvement in wine quality, to more dense, more concentrated and more perfect wines, which call for the development of new shapes.
To translate a wines message in a perfect way.
To the progress that has been made in the features and quality of machine production.
Ouverture Series Introduced in 1989, “Ouverture” is Riedel’s uncomplicated beginner series for customers, who appreciate good, reasonably priced wine. No types of grape varieties or wine-growing regions disconcert the buyer. Six sizes are made for “drinking pleasure”. Ouverture is lead free. Ideal for everyday use, Ouverture glasses offer perfectly shaped wine glasses at competitive prices.
Professor Claus J. Riedel was the first designer to recognize that the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wines are affected by the shape of the glass from which they are drunk. Forty years ago he began his pioneering work to create stemware that would match and complement different wines and spirits. In the late 1950s, Riedel started to produce glasses which at that time were a design revolution. Thin-blown, unadorned, reducing the design to its essence: Bowl, stem, base.
Working with experienced tasters, Riedel discovered that wine enjoyed from his glasses showed more depth and better balance than when served in other glasses. Claus J. Riedel laid the groundwork for stemware which was functional as well as beautiful, and made according to the Bauhaus design principle: form follows function.
In 1961, a revolutionary concept was introduced when the Riedel catalogue featured the first line of wine glasses created in different sizes and shapes. Before this, conventional stemware had used a single basic bowl shape, with only the size varying depending on use.
The concept was illustrated to perfection with the introduction of the Sommeliers series in 1973, which achieved worldwide recognition. A glass was born that turns a sip into a celebration – a wine’s best friend – fine-tuned to match the grape! You don’t need to be a wine writer, a wine maker or an expert to taste the difference that a Riedel glass can make.
When developing a glass, Riedel’s design ideas are not born on a drawing board, but shaped by trial and error with the help and support of the world’s greatest palates.
A person interested in wine is led by color, bouquet and taste, but often the glass is not considered as an instrument to convey the message of the wine. Over the years Riedel acquired some interesting scientific explanations as to shy the shape of a glass influences the bouquet and taste of alcoholic beverages. The first discovery was made while enjoying wine. The same wine displayed completely differently characteristics when served in a variety of glasses. The differences were so great that experienced connoisseurs were made to believe that they were tasting a different wine.
The grape variety is the key factor in determining the relationship between fruit, acidity, tannin and alcohol. As the next step, Riedel was able to create shapes in which the wine, vinified from specific grape varieties, seemed to improve. We started to recognize the complex role that size and shape play in conveying the message of a fine wine.
The quality and intensity of aromas are determined by the personality of a wine but also by its affinity to the glass shape. Bouquet can only develop in a limited temperature range. Low temperatures temper the intensity, whereas high temperatures promote mainly alcoholic fumes.
Important as the shape of a glass is, it cannot function properly unless the wine is served at the correct temperature and in the right serving quantities (white wine: 2-3 oz., red wine 3-5 oz.). When the wine is poured, it immediately starts to evaporate and its aromas quickly fill the glass in layers according to their density and specific gravity. Consequently, the size and the shape of the glass can be fine-tuned to the typical aromas of a grape variety.
The lightest, most fragile are those reminiscent of flower and fruit and these rise right up to the rim of the glass, while the middle fills with green vegetal scents and earthy, mineral components. The heaviest aromas, typically of wood and alcohol, remain at the bottom of the glass. Swirling the wine in the glass moistens a larger surface area, and this increases the evaporation and intensity of the aromas. But swirling does not encourage different elements of the bouquet to blend together. This in fact explains why the same wine in different glasses shows such an amazing variety of aromas.(The same wine can exhibit fruit aromas in one glass and green and vegetal notes in another). To eliminate this effect, you would have to move the layers vertically and shake the glass. Only then would you discover the same bouquet in all glasses!
Experienced tasters rely on their olfactory talents more than their palates to determine the provenance of the wine or the grape variety in blind tastings. Very large glasses with a capacity of more than 25 ounces allow you to “nose” through the layers of bouquet by inhaling very gently and regularly for about ten seconds, penetrating down through the surface layers of fruit to the more earthy and alcoholic notes below.
Each individual is the sovereign of his palate. We cannot dictate rigid rules that override personal preferences. We can, however, give some valuable guidelines – and over the years the response of wine lovers to our suggestions has been overwhelmingly positive. Physical movements and adjustments of head and body are controlled subconsciously. The shape of the glass forces the head to position itself in such a way that you drink and do not spill. Wide, open glass shapes require us to sip by lowering the head, whereas a narrow rim forces the head to tilt backwards so that the liquid flows because of its gravity. This delivers and positions the beverage to different “taste zones” of the palate.
Gulping to quench one’s thirst negates the benefits of the glass, since it means that flavour is only experienced in the aftertastes. Alcoholic beverages are consumed according to their strength in small to very small quantities at a time. this offers the opportunity to control the flow of the drink and consequently the initial contact with the tongue. The resulting nerve impulse is transmitted to the brain at a speed of 400/m sec, where it leaves a lasting first impression. In most cases we are disappointed if sweet fruit flavours are absent ant tart components dominate the taste picture. When this happens, the tendency is to blame the wine rather than the inappropriate shape of the glass.
This is precisely where a glass can make a dramatic difference in conveying a wine’s message. Every wine has its own unique blend of qualities: fruit, acidity, minerals, tannin, alcohol that are based on the grape variety and the climate and soil on which it is grown. By studying the varietal characteristics, Riedel glasses are able to deliver a wine or spirit to the nose and palate in such a way that it can fully express its personality. The finish plays an important part in the overall impression and this too is strongly influenced by the design of the bowl. It will take time to recognize that a glass is not just a glass, but an instrument of pleasure and enjoyment.
The glasses are designed to emphasize a wine’s harmony, not faults. Riedel has always viewed the wine glass as an instrument to bring together: the personality of the wine, smell, taste, appearance (including the beauty of the object).
To fully appreciate the different grape varieties and the subtle characteristics of individual wines, it is essential to have a glass which has a shape fine-tuned for the purpose. The shape is responsible for the quality and intensity of the bouquet and the flow of the wine.
The initial contact point depends on the shape and volume of the glass, the diameter of the rim, and its finish (whether it is a cut and polished or rolled edge) as well as the thickness of the crystal.
As you put your wine glass to your lips, your taste buds are on the alert. The wine flow is directed onto the appropriate taste zones of your palate and consequently leads to different taste pictures. Once your tongue is in contact with the wine three messages are transmitted at the same time: temperature, texture and taste.
The size of a glass is important, affecting the quality and intensity of aromas. The breathing space has to be chosen according to the “personality” of the wine or spirit.
Red wines require large glasses, white wines medium-sized glasses and spirits, small ones (to emphasize the fruit character and not the alcohol).
In 1973, in Orvieto, Claus Riedel presented the world’s first gourmet glass series developed with the help of the Association of Italian Sommeliers (ASI). The series consisted of 10 sizes. Since then the world of wine has changed radically. 
Introduced in 1986, Vinum was the first machine-made series of glasses in history to be based exclusively on the characteristics of quality, reasonably price and wide distribution.
Ouverture Series 