Customer Reviews

Spiegelau Vino Grande Burgundy Wine Glasses, Set of 6

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

These glasses received the top rating from the Wall Street Journal's wine journalists, and as a result, I decided to buy 2 sets of 6, replacing our standard Williams Sonoma red wine glasses. After using them for about a month for various red wines, they have made me realize that I've been missing much of my wines' bouquets. They are big, so you can pour yourself a full serving, and still have plenty of room to swirl your wine without worrying whether your Cabernet will end up all over your rug. After that, bury your nose in the glass. The shape of the glass has allowed me to enjoy the wine's nose more than ever before. The bouquet simply explodes relative to my previous wine glasses. This alone seems intoxicating!

The glasses are made with lead crystal, but balance the delicacy of super-thin glasses with enough substance so you aren't constantly worried about breaking one (and even if you do, they are inexpensive enough to easliy replace). A case of six glasses costs about the same as 3 $15-$20 bottles of wine, and will enhance every bottle you drink. A great product.

I've been using Spiegelau wine glasses for several years, and they are excellent. The burgundy glass is great for any pinot noir based wine, and also for Piedmont wines made from nebbiolo (barolo, barbaresco, langhe). These glasses are designed to enhance the bouquet of those types of wine.

If you drink a lot of bordeaux, or cabernet sauvignon, I'd suggest Spiegelau's bordeaux glass. If your preference is zinfandel or chianti, you're a bit out of luck with Spiegelau however. Their chianti glass isn't very good. Try the Riedel Vinum chianti glass for these wines; you'll be knocked out by the way it focuses the bouquet.

Some reviewers have complained about breakage. I've seldom broken a glass, but it does occasionally happen during washing. My method is to clear the sink, run the water as hot as possible, put a bit of dishsoap in each glass. I then use a special ultra soft brush (which I got at a local wine shop for about $6) to clean the glass, removing fingerprints and especially the gunk around the rim. Then rinse thoroughly with very hot water. Invert on cloth. After about half an hour, with the glasses almost dry, you can wipe them off with paper towels (which don't leave any lint behind) and put them away.

The main thing is never to lay them down in the sink, and wash one glass at a time. Just do the wine glasses and pay attention to what you're doing. Don't try to stick your hand inside the bowl when drying; just use the paper towels.

Finally, even though these glasses are supposed to be dishwasher safe, I don't know why anybody who loves wine would put stemware in a dishwasher. Dishwashers always leave a film, and eventually their abrasive detergents will put microscopic scratches on the glasses, which lose their clarity as a consequence.

These glasses are really wonderful for enjoying red wine. Their very large bowls really help the air exposure that brings out the flavors in a good red. The rims were thin and the stems delicate enough, but they didn't feel terribly fragile. Also, I thought the packaging was just fine. There was nothing wrong with this set in any way.

However, I wouldn't recommend these glasses to anyone who is a very casual wine drinker and wants to stay that way -- or anyone with very limited cupboard space. When I have wine enthusiasts over, they think these glasses are very appropriate. When I have others over, they think these are weird. The bowls are MUCH larger than your average red wine glasses. Expect to hear "Well, I know the red wine glasses are larger, but isn't this a little overboard?" Of course, these people don't realize that no -- the size of these bowls is great. But expect to have to explain.

So overall, in sum: Perfect for enjoying your red wine -- much larger than the standard size for reds, which helps you enjoy what you are drinking! If you don't want to have to explain the "weird" size to guests who don't understand red wine reasonably well, or want to save cupboard space, then perhaps avoid these and go for a more standard size red wine glass.

Beautiful glasses. I've been drinking wine for several years but didn't realize what I'd been missing until I drank wine out of one of these glasses. There is just no substitute; I'll never go back. The rim of these glasses is so thin and and the nose on your wine will make you swoon with delight.

The glasses are fragile and I have broken a few while handwashing, however, I started putting them in the dishwasher recently and there seems to be less breakage now. Just be gentle when transporting to the dishwasher. They are most likely to break in the rim area as the rim is very thin (but that is what makes the wine tasting so awesome)! Enjoy!

Very nice glasses! Especially at the price. Mine came overpacked in a huge box with lots of pillow pack, so they've heard and addressed the breakage complaints of prior reviews. Yes, you should hand wash; ours pick up minor water marks from drying in the dishwasher. Yes, they're somewhat fragile, but that's part of the experience of a fine crystal.

A couple of things helped us decide on these v. the Reidels or the other Spiegelaus: first, these are the ones recommended (twice over several years) by John & Dottie, the wine critics at the WSJ (yes, over the Reidels and over other Spiegelaus, considering the price.) They say "Both whites and reds show well in it."; 2nd, they're the right height (8.5 in) to fit in our kitchen cabinets (and dishwaher, but see water spots above). Taller glasses would have been a storage problem for us since our shelving for glasses has about a 9.25" spacing.

I'd buy them again and certainly recommend them.

With all due respect to several reviewers below, any good wine glass is SUPPOSED to be thin, and fragile. Only the average wine drinker would be turned off by this (these same people probably also like white zinfandel and merlot). But for anyone who knows at least a little about wine, they understand that thinner is better (better clarity, better for tasting, etc). Why else would the top wine glass producers make such a thin glass, while the cheaper glasses you can buy anywhere are much thicker? There is a reason for that. Also, these glasses are more fragile, so of course you need to be careful. However, they do not break from careful rinsing/drying.

As for the glass itself, it is a beautifully crafted glass. Its 25 oz. capacity is perfect for drinking any red wine, and it really enables you to appreciate both the visual and taste aspects of any given wine. I personally like a larger bowl that Spiegelau provides. You can swirl without fear of spilling, yet the glass itself isn't overwhelming. In my opinion, Spiegelau is almost identical to Riedel. With that in mind, why would you spend double the money just so you can say you have Riedel glasses? If you're new to wine, trust me, good stemware will enhance any wine. Before you go out and start spending good money on wine, buy yourself some good stemware (both red and white) first.

As for my somewhat critical remarks above towards several other reviewers---I guess it just bothers me when someone gives a bad review simply because they don't have a firm understanding as to what are the characteristics of a good wine glass.

We love these glasses - looked at them for a year or more, and took the plung when there was the bonus offer (bought 2 sets, for 12). They are well worth every penny! They are a quite a bit larger than standard red wine glasses but that makes them distinctive and enhances flavor. They sound beautiful when held at the stem to toast. They are delicate (as they should be) but we've never broken one w/ hand washing and drying.

These glasses really do enhance the bouquet of a wine. They are super fragile though, even with hand washing I've broken several with the brush we use at our house for dishwashing. I can't recommend using them in the dishwasher for that reason. A GREAT value, especially when compared with Reidel.

This is a very good price for a good set of glasses. If you want to give a wedding gift which will be used and appreciated, this is it.

I bought four sets in an Amazon sale last year.... Several members of that food and wine online group had purchased the glasses and recommended them highly. They were right, these are good glasses.

Buy one set of burgundy, and one set of the white wine glasses, and you'll have enough money left over to share a few bottles of good wine with the lucky couple.

Over all glasses seem well made, though I did notice some imperfections and blemishes in the glass. I am raising my rating from 3 to 5 - as I use these more and more I like em more and more.