The Riedel Seminar

I love Riedel stemware. We don't use very much of it at JAR, but I keep an extensive amount of styles at home to experiment with. Ever since my first seminar with George Riedel, I was sold on the importance of the shape of the glass and its effect on the wine. Since that first eye-opening experience, I have always made it a point to attend any of his seminars that I can get to.

Each seminar I've attended has had its own focus, generally centered around a collection of three different stems. My personal favorite was the spirits seminar, which I found to be the most dramatic. The grappa glass was a real eye-opener! This seminar was focused strictly on red wines: Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

To begin his lecture, Mr. Reidel, who is actually a very funny and talented public speaker, showed the effect of the delivery of each glass. By using a mineral water, he illustrated how a particular glass can strike your palate in a different way, thereby changing the experience texturally. An interesting approach, given that there is no flavor to water. The Cabernet glass was the clear favorite in its delivery of the liquid across the palate in the most thirst-quenching manner.

Getting down to the wines, each of the glasses showed its intended varietal in the purest way. The Pinot Noir glass highlighted the florality and acidity, which was lost completely in the Cabernet glass, as well as any aromas at all. The Syrah showed the most flavors out of the Hermitage glass, and accented only a few characteristics from the other stems. The Cabernet changed slightly from glass to glass, but was the least dramatic of the examples. With a different Cabernet than the extra-ripe 2007 Barnett Cabernet, I think it would have been a more effective showing.

In the final leg of his lecture, Mr. Riedel offered that food is a key component with wine as well. "I have provided chocolate", he chimed in his Austrian accent, referring to the Lindor truffle at each of our seats. He suggested that the positives and negatives of food and wine pairing were also accentuated by the proper stem. This message was lost on me since I don't really care for chocolate with dry wine and found it a poor pairing in either case. But I did appreciate the chocolate.


I highly recommend attending one of these seminars if the opportunity presents itself. They are usually very eye-opening and, even if you don't choose to buy a bunch of different Riedels, they will encourage you to think more about which glass you pull out of the cabinet. I just re-organized my wine glass cupboard to have easier access to all of my various stemware so I can do a little more experimentation at home. Heck - you can even grab a few different Riedels at the store and perform the seminar yourself! But I guess it won't be the same without the Austrian accent...