Riedel releases horse sipping wine decanter

Glassware giant Riedel has released its latest innovative decanter featuring a concave horse figure cleverly appearing to sip its contents.

Designed by 11th-generation Riedel Crystal president and CEO, Maximilian Riedel, the 23 inch mouth-blown crystal decanter was inspired by the Chinese Year of the Horse and the famous Royal Lipizzans – a rare and aristocratic breed originating from Austria.

The decanter’s colour, defined by a single stripe of black crystal that runs the decanter’s length, takes its inspiration from the Lipizzan breed who are born black and turn white as they grow into adults.

Riedel said: “I have long been fascinated by horses, both as animals of strength and performance as well as of elegance, in addition to the role they have played for generations in cultures throughout the world.

“With the Riedel Horse decanter, I strove to create a functional and powerful wine tool that simultaneously reflects the innate beauty, sophistication, and authority of a horse.”

The decanter’s concave profile is designed to aid the wine’s decanting process by helping to oxygenate the wine as it is poured into the decanter and shaken creating a thin layer of bubbles improving its aeration and flavour profile of the given grape varietal, “while remaining regal and refined like the Austrian Lipizzans.”

The decanter joins Riedel’s “glassware menagerie” which already includes designs featuring a swan, duck and boa snake.

The decanter is priced at £495.