This Glass Will Make Your Champagne Taste Better (No, Really!)
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Your New Year’s Eve traditions probably already involve a bottle of something bubbly, but what if your wine glass could sparkle too? With Riedel’s new line of iridescent glassware, it can. Pour your favorite prosecco into the Performance Champagne glasses ($59 for a set of two) — or check out the rest of the Performance line if you prefer a different wine varietal — and you’ll feel like you’re sipping out of a hollowed-out disco ball as you ring in 2019.
Riedel’s crystal Performance glasses get their pearly shine thanks to a special glassblowing technique that creates slight ridges in the bowl for a rippled, iridescent effect. Those ridges aren’t just for looks; they also increase the bowl’s inner surface area and make the wine taste better. As you swirl your glass, the ridges agitate the wine and open it up to more oxygen, which brings out its flavors and aromas. The Riedel team thought of everything — even the sleek rim is cut by a laser to direct the wine to the correct part of your tongue for optimum taste.
The Performance line includes seven different glasses, all shaped to bring out the best in specific wine varietals. The Champagne glasses, for example, are wider in the middle than most flutes because Riedel finds that a narrower rim helps release Champagne’s aromas. The Cabernet glasses, on the other hand, are much larger in size to complement red wine’s complexities. We’re partial to the Pinot Noir glasses, pictured above, with their unique tulip shape.
Can’t decide on one kind? Try the Performance Tasting Set ($118), which includes four glasses for Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay.
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(Photos via Riedel)