Wine Wednesday

Oh.My.Gosh!  All these years I've been drinking wine all wrong! Learn from my mistake, people.

Recently I attended a Riedel Comparative Glass Seminar.  This fascinating seminar was presented by none other than Mr. Riedel (pronounced REE-dul) himself--a 10th generation glass maker.  His family-owned company, Riedel,The Wine Glass Company, revolutionized wine glasses and drinking wine in early 1960's when they introduced the very first line of wine glasses created in different sizes and shapes.

Bet y'all are thinking, "What's this gal talking about? Who needs different wine glasses for different wines? My red solo cup works just fine."  I say throw that big o' red solo cup away...on second thought, don't throw it away, save it for fall football tailgate season. But go get yourself some Riedel wine glasses. You can thank me later.

During our evening with Mr. Riedel, we sampled three red wines--Pinot Noir, Old Vine Syrah, and a Cabernet.  Below are the three different glasses which perfectly match each wine.

Syrah wine glass, pictured above far left; Pinot Noir, center; Cabernet, pictured far right

Pinot noir is one of my favorite varietal of wines. I was beyond eager to begin our comparative tasting with a pinot.  First, Mr Riedel had us sample ice cold water from each glass.  Next we poured Pinot into each glass (after emptying the water :) ).

Pinot noir from the pinot glass--HEAVEN; Pinot noir from a syrah or cab glass...tastes like swill! Blech!!

Second go round was the Syrah.  Now, I'm not really a big old vine syrah lover.  Let's just say when I sampled the syrah from the pinot and cab glasses, I LITERALLY thought I might die...or make a complete idiot of myself gagging in front of the crowd.

Finally, the tasting of the Cabernet.  In cooler months, I do enjoy a good cab.  After sampling cab out of a Riedel Cabernet wine glass, I might just make cabernet more than just a winter wine:)

Prior to the Riedel Comparative Glass Seminar I didn't give much thought to which vessel to enjoy my wine from.  Now, I'll definitely make sure to have the specific glass for a particular wine.  Yes, it really made that big a difference in my wine drinking enjoyment.


As an added bonus to the seminar, we were surprised with a Riedel Coca-Cola glass from which we sample ice-cold Coca-Cola.  No ice to water the real Coke down.  Y'all it was pure Southern Heaven!

How cute is the Riedel Coca-Cola glass?

Off to finish my Coca-Cola before Wine Time!