Riedel Crystal – wine tasting with a difference in Edinburgh

May 24, 2011 3:11 pm

Miriam Fogarty of Gulp Food ran a very special event for Riedel, the wine glass company, at The Mansfield Traquair on Broughton Street last night. You can see in our photo how the tables and chairs were set up in the former church.

Maximilian Riedel (CEO of RIEDEL CRYSTAL OF AMERICA and 11th generation glassmaker of the RIEDEL family), conducted a wine tasting event with a difference. And the difference was the glasses, which are produced by Mr Riedel’s family. We scoffed a little at the thought that the design of a glass could alter the taste of the wine. Then we scoffed some wine from different glasses as instructed by the Austrian glass designer. And it was absolutely true! The wine’s parfum and the taste both altered considerably, depending on the glass used.

The wine last night was supplied by Tarquin de Burgh of Inverarity Wines, and was very fine (except in the wrong glass, and particularly in the plastic cup!) Here he is speaking just before the event:-

We were given very strict instructions:-

Welcome to the Riedel tasting. To ensure a successful and enjoyable experience, please:

Switch off your mobile or turn on to silent mode.

Use only the beaker on the napkin for water and not any of the vessels on the tasting mat.

Do not drink the wines until instructed to in the tutored tasting.

The glassed ued in the tasting are yours to take home at the end of the night. A fitted box within the carrier bag, is provided for safe carriage of the glasses.

We were very lucky to be invited by Miriam to this event. And we brought the beautiful new glasses home to use with our own wine in the future. The best news was that it is perfectly fine to put the glasses in the dishwasher.

Here is Maximilian speaking at various points throughout the evening:-

RIEDEL CRYSTAL has a 250 year history, and is recognised worldwide as a producer of high quality and unique glassware. It was the first company to introduce the concept of grape-specific glassware which maximises the pleasure and sensory qualities of wine. RIEDEL is 100% family owned and operated by Georg J. Riedel and his son Maximilian J. Riedel.
Each calendar year father or son conducts a limited number of demonstrations around the world. Visits to the UK and particularly Scotland are rare indeed – it is more than 10 years since an Edinburgh visit and 4 years since a Glasgow visit. This year’s visit will coincide with National Wine Month in the UK (‘Make Time for Wine’).
More details about the glasses and the one-off decanters can be found onThe Riedel website.