Riedel New Lines - Part 1

One of my favourite suppliers, Riedel are just in the process of bringing out a raft of new lines, the first of which have just hit the shelves in the shops. The “Newness” as they are sometimes referred to by people who’ve forgotten that the English language is perfectly capable being spoken correctly, consists of a five strong range called “Wine Friendly”, of which more in a minute, and then there’s an eclectic collection of five glasses that cater for Tequila, Rum, and three Straight Sided General Purpose Tumblers.

Last time I drank Rum, when I was 18 years old, I was violently sick. I was kindly collected by my father and continued to be sick (out of the window of the car) as he drove us home. I haven’t touched a drop since, so it's difficult for me to be enthused about this one, but if after reading this you still fancy a Rum, then this is the right shaped glass to drink it out of.
  
  Tequila, I’ve never been sick on, in fact I’ve never had it at all, so with personal experience being none existent, I’ll just observe that they look to be a pretty good shape for sherry as well, which I’ve not had in a very long time either, but dry sherry was a great favourite of my parents who, being a broad minded couple, allowed me the odd tipple from time to time, and, unlike my Rum experience, it didn’t end in tears.
  
  There are three sizes of tumbler in a simple and pleasing design, two of which had been available previously, but now come as a value pack, in a box of 8 glasses (4 of each size, tumbler and long drink) £87 for the box (about 25% off), plus the new Double Rocks size at £29 a pair.

So for me, Rum apart, there are some useful additions to the Riedel range here. Returning to the Wine Friendly range of 4 glasses and a decanter, these, I’m afraid, give me a bit of a problem.
  
  The whole premise behind the Riedel philosophy is designing a bowl that directs the wine to the parts of the mouth to maximise the flavour and to capture aromas that may otherwise escape.
  
  So, when Riedel decided to bring out a generic range that sort of covers everything with four glasses, it leaves me wondering what’s going through Maximillian’s mind. Now, I’m going to tread a little carefully here, as the last time I slated a Riedel product, namely their “Wine Wings” range, I referred to them as “the Ugliest glasses in the world”, I think I rather offended or upset Steve, the UK MD of Riedel, and I felt rather guilty afterwards.

And actually I also have to admit that having asked Martin, our account manager for samples of these very ugly wine glasses.
  
  I couldn’t bear the thought of paying for them, Cabernet for me and Oaked Chardonnay for Jeanne (the only two wine drinkers in our family, I’m sorry to say), with the thought that I could then say with some  authority “that they not only looked awful but didn’t work either”….
  
  I have to eat humble pie and admit that they do work perfectly well and that I quite frequently pick the Cabernet (out of the drawer we keep all our glasses in) when opening a bottle of Bordeaux.

Inelegant, but entirely practical! 

Eclectic mix of glasses. Easily to hand. 

So returning to my point, I find the Wine Friendly range fights with my understanding of what Riedel is all about.
 
 Riedel is all about excellence, about perfection, about extracting the very last drop of flavour and aroma out of any wine you care to mention.
 
 It is to wine glasses what Le Creuset and Demeyere are to cookware, what Apple is to computing (barring their truly awful operating system).
 
 I am most decidedly not a cynic but I am tempted to feel that this range has been created for purely commercial reasons, and not because it comes from the passion that the Riedel's have for improving our wine drinking life. 

So Steve, if you’re reading this, please forgive my lack of enthusiasm on “Wine Friendly “  and look forward to when I review the new Veloce range when it arrives next month.
 
 I promise it will be filled to the brim (or more correctly,  the widest part of the glass) with superlatives the like of which you will never have seen before!
 
In the meanwhile, if you'd like to buy any of these glasses, both ones I do approve of and those that I don’t, you may take 20% off any two boxes, using code FRIENDLY. (Valid until 11.59pm Monday 21/02/2022)
 
 Oh and I almost forgot the Wine Friendly Decanter. This, you’ll be glad to hear, is a pleasingly shaped decanter at a bit of a bargain price of £35, and I suspect, that if you happen to open a bottle with sediment, it would do a reasonable job of catching it before it goes into the glass (you’ll see what I mean when you look at the neck). 

There we are, knew I’d find something  positive to say about  Wine Friendly.

I was meant to be off to Liverpool this weekend to help my “little” brother construct a posh shed, sadly the weather has put the mockers on this, which may leave me time to work on my “Why “instead.

I hope you have a pleasant and safe weekend, looks like a time to catch up on stuff at home …

Kind regards

Andrew
 
Andrew Bluett-Duncan Director