Georg Riedel, in his long career, has shaped many functional glasses, all specifically designed to enhance the enjoyment of the liquid for which it is created. Georg, as the creator of varietal-specific wine glasses, strongly believes that a finely tuned glass shape enhances the perception of all aromatic beverages.
In the Summer of 2018, Georg was asked by a customer to create "the ultimate glass" for Cabernet Sauvignon, a project which was to provide the inspiration behind RIEDEL Winewings.
Slowly, a new shape emerged: A flat-bottomed glass, wide and reminiscent of the wing of an aircraft, complete with winglets. Over the course of a year, through many tastings and by making changes to shape, size and rim diameter, what began as one glass for one grape varietal developed into seven different glasses to represent the most popular grape varietals.
RIEDEL Winewings was born and was about to take flight!
Georg Riedel's Vision - Modern Glassware reimagined
To explain the concept of RIEDEL Winewings: We chose a flat and stretched bottom, with a wing-like shape to increase the surface area between wine and air, which increases the levels of evaporation and develops a greater intensity of aroma. When positioning one’s head to the glass, the nose is closer and is exposed to the wider surface of the wine. However, this alone would not fully deliver the optimal aroma of each grape variety and so, to capture the delicate layered aromas, it was necessary to curve the glass walls and to correctly calibrate the opening of each glass with its ideal rim diameter.