Tom S wrote:

> There's a bit of controversy on this topic, but personally I like the Riedel
> "Vinum Extreme" 444/0 for almost everything. It's very large, so you can
> really get a snootful of aroma from it. Riedel pitches it as a glass for
> Cabernet or Merlot, but Pinot Noir, Zin, Chardonnay and whatever are all
> nice in it.
>
> Some people claim that the shape of the glass makes a difference in the
> flavor of the wine, and you really need a different shape of glass to
> present each type of wine to best effect. That's the controversial part.
> IMO that's just a marketing gimmick to get wine aficionados to buy more
> glasses.

Before having had some direct experience, I'd have believed as you. _Many_
years ago I was given Riedel Vinum Bordeaux and Zinfandel/Chianti glasses. I
thought it was all pretty silly except for the fact that, even with my limited
palate, there was absolutely no question that there were differences, both in
the nose _and_ taste. [It was this taste difference that _really_ surprised
me.] But the "best" glass depended on the wine. Some Bordeaux were "better" in
the Zin/Chianti glasses, for example, and sometimes we disagreed on which was
"better" for the wine. [We _did_ have our own tastes. :-) ] And, as it turned
out, we tended to prefer Sauternes in my _old_ glasses.

On the other hand, we could hardly tell the difference (visually) between the
Bordeaux and the Brunello glasses, for example, unless they were sitting side by
side, and we sure couldn't tell any differences with the wines. They seemed to
work equally well. [Which would make some sense, since they looked _so_ much
alike.]

So to some extent, I'd have to defend the notion that different shaped wine
glasses will work better for different wines, _including_ taste. I'd just
probably not go to _quite_ the extremes that Riedel does. Let's face it. If
the shape of the glass didn't really make much difference, we could be happy
drinking fine wine out of water glasses. :-)

Regards,

- Roy

=*=*=
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark
Twain
The truth is rarely pure, and never simple. - Oscar Wilde