A glass is a glass is a glass, or maybe not, if you’re sipping wine!  It seems that using the right stemware for a particular type of wine IS all that it’s cracked up to be.  All those beautiful wine glass shapes do seem to bring out a wine’s best qualities, in the glass and in your mouth.  Grassl Glass stemware has refined that premise, its sparkle and shine just the start to more enjoyable wine moments. 

Kevin Jones of Liquid Assets Cellars in Los Angeles

Part of the enjoyment of wine is the tactile sensation of swirling wine in the glass, admiring the color, the “legs”, and the way the light plays off the liquid nectar.  And then, when you inhale the aromas, and taste the wine, you’re transported to a new level of sensory pleasure, where the glass itself serves up a different level of intensity and flavor.  The theory is that the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wine is affected by the shape of the glass from which they are drunk, placing sparkling to full-bodied wines on different receptors in your mouth, amplifying the pleasure of drinking wine.

Vigneron Series, Courtesy of Grassl Glass

Elemental Series, Courtesy of Grassl Glass

Hand-crafted glasses, Courtesy of Grassl Glass

While you might be most familar with Riedel glasses, Grassl stemware has taken their thesis to a new level.  Building upon Riedel’s experiments where different types of wines taste better in different shapes of glass, Grassl produces two lines of stemware, the Vigneron and Elemental series.  Designed in Switzerland and hand-crafted by glass-blowing artisans in Slovakia with thirty years of experience, the skill it takes to make a single glass is impressive.  Working with molten glass, the initial shape is put into a wood mould, and then inflated, once that is done, the glass is removed from the mould and the stem is hand-pulled, finally attached to a base, cooled and polished to perfection.  The glasses are ultra thin and light, almost weightless in your hand, yet durable enough to be put in a dishwasher, every wine drinker’s dream!

Recently I had the opportunity to test out these Grassl wine glasses at Liquid Assets in Los Angeles.  Not only were the glasses beautiful and so lightweight, the wines inside seemed to be more evocative and lively.  We even compared the same wine in two different shapes, and the shape that was supposed to articulate the best of the wine actually did.

The Vigneron Series consists of four different bowl shapes, designed not only with the type of wine in mind, but also wine regions around the world.  These designs were done with the feedback of winemakers and sommeliers, to showcase the best expression of the wines.  They are truly works of art, but even more so, seemed to really bring the pure essence of the wines into focus.

Kindred Rosé in the Mineralité glass

The Grassl “Mineralité” accents sparkling and higher acid white wines, where the distance from the bowl to the rim is designed to funnel delicate aromas to the nose, placing the wine on the tip of your tongue and spotlighting the fruit.  Think of Champagne, Prosecco, and Cava for sparkling, Unoaked Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Rosé wines.  Here, Kindred Rosé from Liquid Jones Wines fills the glass.

Smith & Sheth CRU Sauvignon Blanc in the Liberté glass

The Grassl “Liberté” compliments fuller-bodied whites and lighter reds, where the wider bowl allows wines to open up quicker, the tapered rim captures aromas to the nose, and it directs the wine to the center of your tongue, bringing the wine into harmony in your mouth.  Designed for Oaked Chardonnay, White Rhône blends and White Bordeaux blends, Beaujolais, and Jura wines.  In this case, an aromatic and fleshy New Zealand Smith & Sheth CRU Sauvignon Blanc is paired with this glass.

Pyramid Valley Central Otago Pinot Noir in the Cru glass

The Grassl “Cru” reveals the delicacy and balance of red wines with medium to high complexity, with its large surface area and convex walls.  The larger bowl allows the bigger flavors to spread out and lets air reach the wine, which releases bolder aromas.  The wine is directed to the tip of your tongue, bringing sweet fruit forward in your mouth.  Accentuates Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo (Barolo and Barbaresco), Brunello di Montalcino, and Chianti.  Pyramid Valley Central Otago Pinot Noir is a perfect pour for the Cru glass.

Myriad Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1855 glass

The Grassl “1855” flatters fuller-bodied reds, here the large surface and volume with convex walls allows wines of high concentration and complexity to stretch out.  The glass puts the wine in the center of your tongue, creating a symphony of fruit, tannin, and acidity.  Created for Bordeaux, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo.  Myriad Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon finds its home in the 1855 glass.

The Elemental Series consists of Champagne and Versatile wine glass shapes, durable yet still mouth-blown, and value-priced.

Tips for the home drinker, when pouring wine into any glass, except for sparkling, keep the wine level to the lower third of the glass.  This leaves lots of room for swirling and air, both of which makes the wines sing!

Grassl Glass, based out of Switzerland, offers these stemware collections in the US, along with a decanter, carafe, and water glass.  Liquid Assets Cellars is the Los Angeles area distributor for Grassl.  If you’ve invested in wines to cellar, or just great wines to drink everyday, consider this an investment in your wine drinking pleasure.  Not only that, they makes great gifts, too.