Two cut crystal bowls, empty and quiet on the table, waiting for the evening the bottle comes out and the cork is pulled. A cognac glass is not meant to be looked at, it is meant to be used – that is the entire point of Riedel.

Expert's Description

Riedel Vinum Cognac 6416/18 is a set of 2 cognac glasses in machine-made crystal from the Austrian glass house Riedel, with a bowl volume of 840 ccm and a height of 153 mm.

Riedel was founded as a glassworks in Bohemia in 1756, but it was ninth-generation heir Claus Josef Riedel who, in the middle of the 20th century, established something decisive: the shape of a glass, not only the quality of the spirit, determines how aroma and flavour are perceived. His son Georg Riedel carried that idea forward into the Vinum line, where each glass is designed for one specific grape or spirit type.

Vinum Cognac has a wide, round bowl that gives the cognac room to breathe, while the narrowed rim gathers the bouquet and carries it calmly toward the nose. The short stem makes the glass comfortable to hold, letting the warmth of the hand slowly coax the aromas open – much like an experienced taster cupping a glass between sniffs.

Wine critic Robert Parker put it as simply as it can be said about Riedel's glasses: "I cannot recommend using these glasses strongly enough." At Whisky.dk, Vinum Cognac is a natural companion to the cognac range, whether the bottle in question is a VS, a VSOP or an XO.

Specifications

Name: Riedel Vinum Cognac 6416/18
Producer: Riedel
Country: Austria
Type: Cognac glass
Material: Machine-made crystal
Capacity: 840 ccm per glass
Quantity: 2 pcs.
Height: 153 mm

Did You Know?

The Riedel family has made glass in Austria since 1756, but it was not until Claus Josef Riedel's research in the 1950s that the industry truly began designing glasses by grape and spirit type rather than by fashion – a habit that later earned the family the nickname "the professors of glass."

A glass is never just a glass. The shape of the bowl decides where in the mouth the liquid lands first, and therefore how sweetness, acidity and alcohol are perceived - the Austrian glassmaking family Riedel has built its entire craft around that idea since 1756.

Expert's Description

Riedel Vinum Port 6416/60 is a set of 2 Port glasses from the Austrian glass manufacturer Riedel, designed specifically to highlight the fruit, sweetness and depth of Port wine.

The glass belongs to Riedel's Vinum series, launched in 1986 as the world's first machine-made glass collection with grape- and wine-style-specific shapes. Where Riedel's handmade Sommeliers series requires mouth-blowing, machine production in the Vinum series makes it possible to offer the same precise shaping to a far wider circle of wine lovers. This Port model has a softly rounded, egg-shaped bowl that concentrates the aromas toward the nose while directing the liquid toward the palate's sweet spots, softening the sharpness of the alcohol.

The glass is made from lead-free crystal, fire-polished for a clear, scratch-free finish, and the wide base provides stability and reduces the risk of tipping. The set comes with 2 glasses, ready for the table alongside the year's best bottle of Port.

Specifications

Name: Riedel Vinum Port 6416/60
Manufacturer: Riedel
Country: Austria
Series: Vinum
Material: Crystal glass, machine-made and lead-free
Set quantity: 2 pcs
Dishwasher safe: Yes

Did You Know?

It was the ninth generation of the Riedel family, Claus J. Riedel, who in the late 1950s first proved that the shape of a glass can change the perceived taste of the very same wine - a discovery that has since underpinned the entire industry of grape-specific wine glasses, the Vinum series included.