Would we like to sip wine? Absolutely. Would we like to meet Georg Riedel? Certainly. Would we like to learn more about wine glasses? Well, sure. But what we got in exchange for our R.S.V.P. was much more than imagined.
We arrived early and sneeked a peek at the room setup. Each place was set with four different glasses atop a paper placemat marked with numbers and letters. We took a seat at the front of the room to get the best photographs of our presenter, who arrived and made his way to the front of the room amidst applause.
Riedel began by pointing out that drinking is one of the most natural actions. “If you are not smart enough to drink, you will not survive.” With that, he instructed us to nose, swirl and sip the Riesling from the Riesling Grand Cru glass. It was sweet and delicious and smelled of fruits. Riedel then told us to pour it out into a plastic cup and take a whiff. Surprise registered throughout the room in audible “wows.” The nose, which had formerly been bright and strong, was completely dead. I smelled nothing. And then when I sipped it, the flavors were off.
Riedel explained that glasses are made a certain way to complement specific wines. The Riesling Grand Cru glass, for instance, is tall and tapered slightly toward the top. Among other reasons, the glass is made this way to make the drinker tilt his head back farther, forcing the wine to hit the palate in a certain spot. When Riesling hits the palate any other way, the flavor, the nose and even the mouth feel is different.
The same goes for the Chardonnay we drank later in the Montrachet glass. This glass has a very round, bell-like bowl, allowing the wine to enter the mouth in a broader stream. We were taken with how buttery and smooth the wine felt and tasted in this glass.
Pinot Noir was next, and it was served in a Pinot Noir glass with the exact same bowl as the Montrachet, but taller and with a curved lip. It tasted perfectly delightful in the glass in which it was meant to be served, but bitter in the Montrachet glass.
We finished with a Cabernet Sauvignon in the Cabernet Sauvignon glass. Full-bodied and rich in berry flavors in the Cab glass, the tannins were discordant in the Pinot Noir glass and downright foul in the Montrachet glass.
Experiment complete, we noshed on hors d’oeuvres created by Capital Hotel Chef Lee Richardson, while Riedel outlined his top four ways to increase wine pleasure.
• Select good company with which to drink.
• Serve wine at the proper temperature; white not too cold, reds slightly chilled.
* Decant wines. The flavors of most wines improve when decanted.
• Pick varietal specific glasses. You need five total glasses to cover it all: two whites and three reds.
To get the full experience like us, you can purchase Riedel glasses at the following locations: Kitchen Co. in Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Ste. 910, 663-3338, KitchenCo.net; Eggshells, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd., 664-6900, EggShellsKitchenCompany.com; or Fifth Season, 10020 North Rodney Parham, (877) 440-0543.