Riedel launches new flat-bottomed wine glasses

Austrian glassware producer Riedel has developed a range of seven flat-bottomed wine glasses called Winewings, said to be reminiscent of an aircraft wing.

The Winewings collection

The new glasses, which retail for £27.50 each, have been in development since 2018 after tenth generation owner of the company, Georg Riedel, was asked by a customer to create the ultimate wine glass for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Riedel’s findings ultimately helped inspire the creation of Winewings, a collection of seven glasses – three for red wines, three for white, and one for Champagne and sparkling wines.

The Winewings range, said to be “reminiscent of the wing of an aircraft”, are flat-bottomed in order “to increase the surface between wine and air”.

This in turn, according to Riedel, increases the evaporation rate and thus creates a “greater intensity of aroma”.

Georg Riedel added: “When positioning one’s head to the glass, the nose is closer and is exposed to the wider surface of the wine.

The Riesling glass.

“However, this alone would not fully deliver the optimal aroma of each grape variety and so, to capture the delicate layered aromas, it was necessary to curve the glass walls and to correctly calibrate the opening of each glass with its rim diameter.”

There are three wine glasses for white grape varieties Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc and three glasses for red varieties Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Riedel explained that the three white wine glasses represent the three “classic and most significant” grape varieties which each possess different flavour and aroma characteristics, as well as a different mouthfeel.

He added that the different glass shapes would help drinkers to “truly appreciate their [the grapes] unique characteristics”.

As for the the design of the red glasses, Riedel noted that this was based on impact of the grape skin on the resulting wine. He categorises red wines and grapes into three categories based on their intensity: mild, medium or powerful.

Finally, there is one glass for sparkling wine, which “elevates the delicate aromas of sweet, toasted bread and enables a sensual mouthfeel, with tiny bubbles expressing a lively, yet creamy texture on the palate”.

The new glasses are available to order through the Riedel website.

It follows news that the Austrian glass manufacturer has decided to close its first UK retail outlet, which it opened in 2017. The shop in Trentham, Staffordshire, was closed after poor footfall meant that the site was no longer commercially viable.

Riedel managing director Stephen McGraw also cited the fact that the Trentham Estate had failed to open a winery attraction, as well as other retail outlets, next to the Riedel store as promised.

“The failure of this to happen has left the area around our shop looking somewhat unloved and like an abandoned building site, which has unfortunately badly detracted from our proposition and the footfall in this area,” McGraw told Stoke-on-Trent Live. 

Riedel will continue to distribute its products in the UK through retailers including John Lewis, Debenhams, Harrods and Selfridges.