Spiegelau Disappointment

[Chad]

We needed to replace some wine glasses. Last year, in a real "Gift of the Magi" moment, my wife and I got each other Riedel wine glasses for Christmas. Sauvignon Blanc for her Bordeaux for me. Both from the Vinum series (machine cut crystal).

After breaking four of hers and two of mine in various washing, drunken stupor and cat-related accidents, we decided it was time for new stems. Much research followed.

Based on recommendations here and other places, most notably the Babbo cookbook, we decided to save a little and go with Spiegelau rather than replace the Riedel. So I ordered up a set of the Authentis White Wine glasses for Lisa. Same machine cut crystal, a little sturdier construction and $30 bucks cheaper. We're pragmatic folks.

They arrived yesterday. They seem well made and I like the more tulip-shaped bowl of the glasses. They look like they'll hold up well.

Inaugural toast was with Morande sauvignon blanc, an inexpensive Chilean wine that we've really fallen in love with. Hey, at $67 a case (including tax) it's hard to go wrong . This stuff is good.

Anyway, the wine tasted a little flat, lacking the sparkle and depth that we've come to associate with it. Weird. I attributed it to the bottle having been opened the day before, even though it was recorked and refrigerated overnight.

We opened another bottle. Same thing. On a lark I pulled down one of the remaining Riedel sauvignon blanc glasses for a side by side comparison. Bingo. The crispness, sparkle and depth was back. Not an overwhelming difference, but certainly noticeable.

Just to be sure, we tried it blind, me handing her a glass by the base rather than the stem so you couldn't tell by the difference in stem length which glass she was holding. She did the same for me. After a couple of repeats it was obvious, we could definitely taste a difference. The wine in the Riedel glass was more citrusy, crisper and more complex. The wine in the Spiegelau glass was a little flatter and more vegetal.

I don't know that it's a big enough difference to justify sending the glasses back and getting another set of Riedel, but it's a little disappointing. Keep in mind that this is a single tasting of a single, inexpensive wine. We have noticed in the past that cheaper wines exhibit more sensitivity to glass construction, i.e. you can taste a bigger difference between a cheaper wine in a better glass versus a cheap glass than you can a better wine in a better glass compared to a cheaper glass.

We'll do some more tasting with other wines -- all in the name of science, mind you -- and let you know what we discover.

Chad