Glassware

[Mulcahy]

This thread should be fairly helpful.

[Alex]

I second Carolyn's Spiegelau recommendation; I picked up on some major deals via eGullet/Amazon this past year. Even without the big sale price I think Spiegelau is a better deal than Reidel. Both are good quality, though, and either would have been most welcome for a wedding present.

[reesek]

the amazon spiegelau glasses are the same as glasses you'd buy in a store.

poor handling should in no way be blamed on the glasses. but i'm hoping that everyone who had a bad experience with amazon emails them with the problems - whether it's over-charging on shipping or broken product...it's in everyone's best interest and trust me - this is one place where it pays to be a squeaky wheel.

[Alex]

Amazon has shipped me four six-glass boxes of Spiegelau, of four different types. Only one glass arrived broken (they're not packed all that securely within the box), and Amazon replaced the entire box with no hassle whatsoever. I'm reasonably careful (but not delicate) with washing and drying them, and none has broken in about six months. Just one person's experience...

[glenn]

Tragedy struck! Well, it could have been worse. I opened the dining room cabinet and every single wine glass fell to the floor, sink and everywhere and broke. What a mess! The hinge had fallen off the shelf. I recently bought them too, about $400 worth or so. I know, a pittance to many of you, but they worked fine for me. I don't look forward to spending that much to replace them. Actually, I'd like to spend half that.

Can I get some suggestions? I don't know if this is wine heresy, but I prefer the big bordeaux glass to use with everything. I got a set of these which I really liked - but I see the price has gone way up. I paid $80 for a set of 4. I need a total of about 10. Doesn't need to be overly fancy. Thanks.

[winesonoma]

Best place I ever found. http://www.winestuff.com/index.html

[little ms foodie]

I use Reidel so I don't have a suggestion but I just wanted to say how sorry I am that that happened to you! I kindof feel quesey thinking if all my Reidel came tumbling out! Oh man!!!

[glenn]

Thanks for the sympathy. I'm gonna be afraid to walk barefoot for the next century.

Best place I ever found. http://www.winestuff.com/index.html

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Yep, they're cheaper than Wine Enthusiast. I'm gonna go ahead and buy 2 sets of these unless someone has a better option. Thanks.

[melkor]

Good plan. We've got all sorts of Riedel Vinums.

[KatieLoeb]

Glenn:

Riedel also makes a "restaurant grade" series of glassware that's in the same shapes as the Vinum glasses. They work out to about $5/stem here in PA through the PLCB system. Can't imagine they wouldn't be cheaper in Jersey. You'd probably have to find a restaurant supply store or ask a local sommelier which company reps for Riedel in your area. The good thing about the "restaurant" glasses is that they aren't as fragile as the rest of the Riedel line. You can actually drum them on the table or knock one over and not break it, yet they are the exact same shapes and still very thin walled and lipped glass. With proper racking (available through Wine Enthusiast, etc) you can even put them through the dishwasher. I love them. I just bought a box of one dozen and gave a set of eight and a nice bottle of wine as a wedding gift. Kept the other four for myself to replace a few I have broken over the past year. They aren't unbreakable, but they can take a hell of a lot more abuse than the average "shatter-if-you-look-at-it-crosseyed" stemware can. And if you do break one they're inexpensive enough so as to not cause too much anguish over it.

PM me if I can give you the info for PA. Any PLCB store could order them for you with the proper code. Perhaps you know folks over the border here or it's a short drive?

[Mark Sommelier]

Plese check this out:

Fortessa has just taken over the distribution of Schott-Zwiesel glasses in the US. Please ask your local guy to show you the Diva and the Top Ten lines. The glasses are stunning and they are extra sturdy. These are the Tritan glasses. The 28 oz. Bordeaux glass is under $5 wholesale.

[mike volker]

You might want to try COSTCO they are selling 24% lead crystal riedel bordeaux knockoffs for 8/$24. What a deal!

Best,

Mike

[T.Thomas]

A good place for Spiegelau has historically been Pop's Wines. They have the Vino Grande Bordeaux for $33.97/set, and the Vino Grande Burgubdy for $27.90/set.

http://www.popswine.com

Or, you could wait for one of those Amazon 2 for 1 deals.

Good luck,

T.

[bugsy]

Glenn:

Riedel also makes a "restaurant grade" series of glassware that's in the same shapes as the Vinum glasses.  They work out to about $5/stem here in PA through the PLCB system.  Can't imagine they wouldn't be cheaper in Jersey.  You'd probably have to find a restaurant supply store or ask a local sommelier which company reps for Riedel in your area.  The good thing about the "restaurant" glasses is that they aren't as fragile as the rest of the Riedel line.  You can actually drum them on the table or knock one over and not break it, yet they are the exact same shapes and still very thin walled and lipped glass.  With proper racking (available through Wine Enthusiast, etc) you can even put them through the dishwasher. I love them.  I just bought a box of one dozen and gave a set of eight and a nice bottle of wine as a wedding gift.  Kept the other four for myself to replace a few I have broken over the past year.  They aren't unbreakable, but they can take a hell of a lot more abuse than the average "shatter-if-you-look-at-it-crosseyed" stemware can.  And if you do break one they're inexpensive enough so as to not cause too much anguish over it.

PM me if I can give you the info for PA.  Any PLCB store could order them for you with the proper code.  Perhaps you know folks over the border here or it's a short drive?

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[bugsy]

sorry,i screwed up the 1st post..i just wanted to add a footnote to katie's post...the riedel restaurant series are indeed the same shape as the vinum line.the difference is that they are not lead crystal and therefor they are not as "clear" nor

as light.they are FOR restaurant service and riedel requires us to agree to not sell them to consumer outlets....i prefer the vinum line and rarely break any because our house rule is to never wash them the night of use.

[KatieLoeb]

sorry,i screwed up the 1st post..i just wanted to add a footnote to katie's post...the riedel restaurant series are indeed the same shape as the vinum line.the difference is that they are not lead crystal and therefor they are not as "clear" nor

as light.they are FOR restaurant service and riedel requires us to agree to not sell them to consumer outlets....i prefer the vinum line and rarely break any because our house rule is to never wash them the night of use.

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Bugsy - where are you located? In PA the STATE is the agent for this line of glassware, and although I suspect that they intended for restaurants to order the "restaurant" glassware through them much as they do wine, the glassware is most certainly available to the consumer and can be oredered simply by providing the proper code and placing an "SLO" (Special Liquor Order) through their local PLCB store.

I wonder if the PLCB has cut some sort of special deal directly with Riedel to be able to do this? It used to be that there was one specific purveyor that handled the Riedel glassware and I haven't heard that's the case in a while so perhaps things have changed here.

riedel requires us to agree to not sell them to consumer outlets

What does this mean exactly? Can Riedel restrict your business and tell you whom you can and can't re-sell their products to? That seems like ripe ground for some sort of legal complaint.

[chezcherie]

Or, you could wait for one of those Amazon 2 for 1 deals.

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i've been wondering, since reidel recently bought spielgelau, whether we have seen the last of these deals? i've been watching, as we need some replacement reds..

[glenn]

Thanks for the suggestions. I realized I might as well combine purchasing glasses for my home and cafe, which will be opening soon. I like the Riedel restaurant line and the price is certainly right. Btw Katie, if you look at Reide's restaurant collection, and click on any glass, Reidel has this caveat: "Only available to the Restaurant Trade - not available in stores." Here in NJ it's available from Lauber importers, the wine purveyor.

Now I can use suggestions for my cafe. It's a small very casual BYO and I honestly doubt that I'll be getting a lot of people who wanna drink wine. Again, I wanna stick with one all purpose glass. I'm thinking either the 446/0 Cabernet/Merlot or 446/7 Pinor Noir/Nebbiolo (sell link above.) They're each about $64 for the first case of 12 and the price decreases as you buy more. Whattaya think?

[KatieLoeb]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I realized I might as well combine purchasing glasses for my home and cafe, which will be opening soon.  I like the Riedel restaurant line and the price is certainly right.  Btw Katie, if you look at Reide's restaurant collection, and click on any glass, Reidel has this caveat:  "Only available to the Restaurant Trade - not available in stores."  Here in NJ it's available from Lauber importers, the wine purveyor.

Now I can use suggestions for my cafe.  It's a small very casual BYO and I honestly doubt that I'll be getting a lot of people who wanna drink wine.  Again, I wanna stick with one all purpose glass.  I'm thinking either the 446/0 Cabernet/Merlot or 446/7 Pinor Noir/Nebbiolo (sell link above.)  They're each about $64 for the first case of 12 and the price decreases as you buy more.  Whattaya think?

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Glenn:

Lauber is who I used to have to deal with for Riedel stemware in PA. Then somehow they weren't carrying it anymore and I had to deal with a regional rep directly from Riedel and now it seems that the PLCB has realized that, like with other products, they can buy so much of it they'll get a great price and then turn around and resell it at a margin most smaller retailers couldn't even dream about. I realize that Riedel probably doesn't want the "restaurant series" stuff in every mall housewares retail store, but I just didn't think they could restrict their resellers customers lists that way. Seems odd, is all.

About the glasses for your cafe - Don't forget that the glasses you've chosen are basically the size of small aquariums, and that a five or even six oz. pour could potentially look really chintzy in them. If you don't think you'll be selling that much wine in general and don't think it's the "main event" for your business, then having the really oversized stemware might work against you perception-wise. I'd suggest test-driving the Magnum glass for all-purpose, or if you chose to have red and white glasses that were different, then the Sangiovese/Zin red glass and the Riesling/Sauv Blanc glass for white. If you fill those glasses to the widest point (about 2/5 up the bowl of the glass) it is a fair (and portion controlled for your cost calculations) glass of wine and doesn't look like you're overcharging folks for weasely little glass of wine. The wine aficionados might notice, but if they aren't the bulk of your customers and you aren't running an enoteca, you're better off making the majority of folks happy, and sparing yourself from people saying, "Hey! Fill up that glass! I'm not going to pay $X for that! Blah, blah..."

[glenn]

Katie, who is PLCB?

Personally, I like aquariums. I like a big glass so I can swirl my red wine to my heart's content :)). It's a byo, so the only thing that matters is that the customer is happy with the glass. Their expectations are certainly not going to be high. Accordingly, I'm not going to go with white and red glasses -- it's really not that kind of place. People will probably be impressed that I even have wine glasses as opposed to paper cups.

[jgm]

sorry,i screwed up the 1st post..i just wanted to add a footnote to katie's post...the riedel restaurant series are indeed the same shape as the vinum line.the difference is that they are not lead crystal and therefor they are not as "clear" nor

as light.they are FOR restaurant service and riedel requires us to agree to not sell them to consumer outlets....i prefer the vinum line and rarely break any because our house rule is to never wash them the night of use.

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Could you indulge a wine newbie and tell me more about that last sentence? That's something I have not heard about before. Thanks!

[KatieLoeb]

Katie, who is PLCB?

Personally, I like aquariums.  I like a big glass so I can swirl my red wine to my heart's content :)).  It's a byo, so the only thing that matters is that the customer is happy with the glass.  Their expectations are certainly not going to be high.  Accordingly, I'm not going to go with white and red glasses -- it's really not that kind of place.  People will probably be impressed that I even have wine glasses as opposed to paper cups.

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Glenn:

Sorry - I misunderstood. Didn't realize it was BYO. Then definitely go with bigger glassware. FWIW, I still think the Magnum size is the best compromise for one-size-fits-all glasses. Still big enough to swirl yet not so large that customers will fill them up with a full bottle at a time! And they will definitely be impressed that you have proper stemware, or at least I would be!

PLCB is the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. They are the state agency from which all restaurants and consumers in the Commonwealth of PA must purchase their liquor and wine. You can see my alternating rants and praise for them regularly in the PA forum, depending on what the issue at hand is.

[chezcherie]

sorry,i screwed up the 1st post..i just wanted to add a footnote to katie's post...the riedel restaurant series are indeed the same shape as the vinum line.the difference is that they are not lead crystal and therefor they are not as "clear" nor

as light.they are FOR restaurant service and riedel requires us to agree to not sell them to consumer outlets....i prefer the vinum line and rarely break any because our house rule is to never wash them the night of use.

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Could you indulge a wine newbie and tell me more about that last sentence? That's something I have not heard about before. Thanks!

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i'm not bugsy, but we have the same policy, chez moi. it's because the more wine you have enjoyed that evening, the more likely you are to be careless in the washing process. bashing them in the sink, smashing them against one another, etc. i find that we break considerably fewer when we wait until the dawn's early light!

Edited November 4, 2004 by chezcherie (log)

[little ms foodie]

Or, you could wait for one of those Amazon 2 for 1 deals.

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i've been wondering, since reidel recently bought spielgelau, whether we have seen the last of these deals? i've been watching, as we need some replacement reds..

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I haven't seen a good sale on Amazon but I did just get a few brand new off of eBay at about $20 less than Amazon price

[bugsy]

chezcherie got my rule explanation perfect...

katie,i'm the riedel wholesaler in MD and DC...we can elect not to play by riedel rules and risk losing the line. we elect to abide by them. seems like you (for once!)

have an advantage in dealing with the PLCB.....sounds like a new business opportunity to me,resell riedel restaurant....