Customer Reviews

Riedel Vinum Chianti Classico Riesling Wine Glasses, Set of 6

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I use the Riedel vintage cuvee champagne flutes for sparkling wines (416/48), the chianti/zinfandel/riesling (416/15) glasses for white wines and everyday drinking, the syrah/Rhone (416/30) glasses for red wine, and the port glasses (416/60) for port and other fortified wines, dessert wines, and cognac. These glasses form a comprehensive set for me, and the shapes match nicely.

For everyday use, these glasses are much smaller than the glasses designated for other red wines: syrah, cabernet, tempranillo, or burgundy. I prefer the more rounded, narrow mouthed shape to the chardonnay glasses, although those would be my second choice for an all-around glass.

As with all lead-based crystal, be careful washing these. Scratchy sponges, towels with grit, or dinging them with cutlery can easily leave permanent scratches.

I've done many, many tests on how wine tastes differently in various glass options and in different situations. Riedel is one of the tests that is easy for even beginning drinkers to see the difference in. The flavor is *amazingly* different when you compare the exact same wine in a Riedel glass vs normal wine glasses.

Even if you buy inexpensive wines, you will get much more enjoyment out of them with this glassware compared to other options. If you are buying mid-range wines, the difference will blow you away. Think of the Riedel glass as allowing you to see what the wine in your bottle *really* was meant to taste like.

I *love* not only Chianti but also red Zinfandel wines, and this is perfect for both. In addition, you can use the Chianti glass for a number of other red wine types, and find it greatly enhances the flavor for them all. If you're a red wine lover, definitely give these a try!

Made of lead crystal, Riedel glasses are designed to enhance the full potential of the wine being served. Starting in the 1700's, the Austrian Riedel family has made the highest quality glassware. Each glass in their stemware line is designed around individual grapes, the wine created from them, and the flow of the wine onto the tongue--however I recommend these Chianti glasses if you are looking for one glass to use for all wines. Cheers!

It's a bit of a long story, maybe more than you want to know, but it might help you make what'll one day be a decision you'll look back on with favor. So here goes:

Five years ago, a buddy of mine invited me to dinner in honor of my birthday. He'd opened a 10 year old bottle of Storybook Mountain organic zinfandel, and offered me a glass. It was marvelous. Then he said, "Well, try it in this." He gave me another glass (it was the Riedel Vinum chianti/zin glass), and I put it under my nose. Encountering the focused bouquet of this terrific wine from that glass was like being smacked in the face. I was thunderstruck. I kept moving back and forth between the two glasses and was utterly staggered by the difference. The power of the Riedel glass to deliver the wine to the nose made me a believer for life.

Years before, I'd heard a Riedel engineer on the radio explaining the science behind the sizing and shaping of glasses for different types of wine. I was as skeptical as the sarcastic radio host. Even though I was a committed wine geek, I was resistant to the notion that one needed at least a few different styles of stemware to get the most out of wine. After my encounter with the vinum chianti/zin glass, I was hooked.

The only drawback is having to buy six, which may be more than some people need. If you do a bit of searching on the web, you'll find some retailers who offer these glasses singly. If you love chianti and/or zinfandel (red zinfandel, that is), do yourself a favor and try one of these glasses. You'll never go back!

Upon reading the glowing recommendations of these glasses,we promptly ordered them and now use them almost daily!Excellent for all types of wine,a nice value and a great "beginner" set.A word of caution;they DO scratch easily,treat them with TLC.

These glasses are as functional as they are beautiful. Well ballanced and comfortable in the hand. They are the first glass to buy to begin a collection, great all purpose wine glasses.

Riedel labels this glass for Chianti and Chardonnay, and for both, it's great. But for Zinfandels, especially high end ones, it can't even hold a candle to a standard Bordeaux glass.

I'm a big fan of Riedel's Vinum line, but have learned that following their labels for these glasses is a good idea. If you like big California zins (and I do), then these aren't the glasses for you. They thin out the smell, and even make the wines taste much smaller than they really are. If you want an all purpose glass for reds, try the Bordeaux or Burgundy glasses.

We received these as a wedding gift and we love them. They feel so balanced in our hands. They also look "quality". My husband isn't much of a wine drinker but he enjoys drinking wine in these. He also likes the way they sound when we clink glasses.

These are the only high-end wine glasses we own and the shape and size of the glasses work for red wine as well as white wine for everday use. Later in our married life I'm sure we'll get more wine glasses for different needs but these are perfect for starters. I'm grateful to the previous reviewers who led me to these glasses which we then registered for.