Riedel. When wine slides (and well) by the right glass, magic happens

The executive director of the largest wine cup company in the world was a few days in Portugal. But what does Riedel do, founded in 1756, pioneer in the wine market? The light spoke to Helder Cunha and Anselmo Mendes, two of the most recognized Portuguese winemakers, to try to understand its importance, as well as the benefits of choosing the right glass, for right wine (the taste buds).

Accompanied by the sun and sea of ​​the Algarve, the Austrian Maximilian Riedel, president and executive director of Riedel Glassware, the international giant of wine cups, decided to come to Portugal and, as it should be, took the opportunity to taste Portuguese wines. «When you are in Portugal, buy a good bottle of local wine, such as this bottle of Alvarinho contact from Mendes & Symington, and find a good place to relax. I always bring my own glasses of wine, because they help to increase emotion, and make the wine know much better. It’s beach time in the Algarve! ”Wrote the CEO, through a publication on social networks.

But about the wine cups and so that there is no doubt: no, it is not enough to open a good bottle. In fact, much more than a normal glass, wines need a good glass friend who receives them with proper characteristics, so that analysis and tasting are successfully done (and ultimately). And this is where Reidel Crystal has won the market. But how?

The origin of everything
The family business (Maximilian Riedel is the 11th generation ahead of the company) was founded in 1756 and produces, in Europe, glasses of different forms and spells, for each type of wine. But it was, in fact, in the late 1950s, that Claus J. Riedel (9th generation) really wanted to innovate and leave a brand that would change the experience that involves enjoying a good product when developing and introducing specific cups in the market. No, it’s not just about whether we are talking about a red, white or a rose, but the castes: the company produces glasses for each of them, taking into account its particularities. And there are two large lines of glasses: those that are handmade (the best known, iconic and exclusive, and also more expensive) and those that are made with the aid of machines. In fact, it is for these reasons that great wineries and restaurants, scattered around the world, choose to slide their wines in Reidel’s elegant glass.

Speaking to light, Anselmo Mendes, winemaker and wine producer with more than 30 years of career and whose work is also known out there, having already been recognized by Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide as one of the best Portuguese winemakers, was pleased with the mention -in text and video -by Maximilian Riedel to one of his wines, the Alvarinho, on Instagram. « Max, besides being the owner of the company, is a communicator, and it was very, very good to have the reference, » comments the winemaker. «I had known him in a presentation he made here in Portugal about the adaptation of the wines to the glasses. He is a very playful person and is very fond of Portuguese wines, ”he added. Regarding the importance of the glass, the winemaker and producer explains that the same wine, if served in two different glasses, will arguably have a record, a taste, a different tasting. «It is necessary to build a glass to take advantage of the wine. And they (Reidel Crystal) do it very well.

The genealogy of the glass
«The glass is a tasting tool. With a good tool, we have the work well done. With a bad tool, we have a rough work, ”he explains to Luz Helder Cunha, also a winemaker and founder of Cascawines, a wine producer based in Cascais holding various awards and recognitions. In this sense, all parts of the glass have a purpose, and they all communicate with each other. “In general, the glass has to have a good base, a foot with a dimension necessary so that we don’t touch the tulip. We don’t want to touch the tulip so as not to get it in the glass. We worry about the temperature of a wine and if we put our hands on it, it will warm very fast. Our hands are 35 degrees and the wine is below 18, or at least it should be. Belly enough to run the wine to oxygenate it, ”he added. Oxygenation is important because it is when shaking the glass that « the maximum aromas will be released. »

Hélder Cunha also has no doubt about the impact Riedel has on the wine cups market, nor of its importance on innovation and quality for a wine tasting experience. «Riedel is conceptualized and was perhaps the most disruptive company that has evolved the most within the glass production facing the tasting. It stands out in many ways. Not just in the design of the cups, but even the evolution of materials. Can adapt the glass. This is because, as the winemaker explains, one of the most important parts of the glass is the mouth, and all glasses have a bump, or protrusion, above. And it is here, in these details, that Riedel’s difference to ordinary glasses is salient. «A good glass of wine cannot have a bump: when the liquid enters our mouth, it has to get in without passing on those lypsy, but in a linear way in our tongues. What is very difficult to produce in the glasses. And Riedel specialized in these characteristics, which even raised the experience of those who consume wine. And it is a very old company, with a lot of tradition. But also with good marketing and strategy ».