Riedel’s new ‘Winewings’ range marks the first time that the company has included grape variety names on its wine glasses.
The new collection spans six different varietally-specific glasses and is the result of a research and development project that began when the firm’s 10th-generation owner, Georg Riedel, was asked to find ‘the ultimate glass’ for Cabernet Sauvignon.
The group ended up creating seven new glasses, for:
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Syrah red wines;
- Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling white wines;
- and one for Champagne and sparkling wines.
‘We’ve had a lot of people say “finally”‘
Priced at £27.50 each, all Winewings glasses feature flat and stretched bottoms with a wide-curved, wing-like shape that Riedel said was ‘reminiscent of the wing of an aircraft’.
This is designed to ‘increase the surface area the wine is exposed to’, and to enable ‘a greater intensity of aroma’ both on the nose and the palate, said the group.
Maximilian Riedel, the firm’s CEO and president, said that grape variety labels would help wine lovers to identify the glasses more easily.
‘Winewings is the first collection in the history of the wine glass that has the grape variety on the base – the reason is that all the glasses look very similar,’ said Riedel, who is the 11th generation of the family.
‘It’s quite difficult to say, even for us, which glass is for which fruit, so we decided we had to put it on the base. Love it or hate it, but we’ve had a lot of people say “finally”‘.
More about the glasses
There are three glasses for the white grapes Riedel believes to be ‘the three classic and most significant varietals’; Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc which each feature ‘different flavours’ and a ‘different mouthfeel’, requiring separate glasses to ‘appreciate their unique characteristics’, Riedel said.
For the design of the red wine glasses, the group said it concentrated on the ‘impact the skin makes on the wine’, categorising the ensuing intensity as mild, medium or powerful.
A single glass for Champagne and sparkling wines was created to ‘elevate delicate aromas’ and ‘enable a sensual mouthfeel’.
Riedel said that the collection as a whole is ‘perhaps not the most aesthetically beautiful but is striking in its design and is brutally functional, taking the wines aromas and flavours ‘on a flight”’.
On the colour of the packaging, described as ‘Wimbledon Purple’, Maximilian Riedel said, ‘In retail, our boxes over the last 30 years have all looked the same and retailers say consumers are confused.
‘So, we’ve started to colour code our packaging, starting with green for the Performance range and now with purple for the Winewings.
‘Every product that comes with a little complication needs even better marketing. People need to lose the fear and people must want it – this is exactly what we stand for.’
Winewings glasses are available to buy through the Riedel website.
See also:
New Riedel performance range launched
