PR invite // All thoughts and opinions are, of course, my own.
Maximilian Riedel from the Riedel family has not visited Scotland for 11 years but was finally back and hosted a tasting & masterclass showcasing the Veloce glass range at Edinburgh Academy with Wine Events Scotland.
We all got to try a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon along with the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo (for thin grape skins) and Cabarnet Sauvignon (for thicker grape skins) glasses from the range. Going through each of the wines, we all got to pour the wine we were focusing on in three different glasses to showcase how the right glass enhances the wine, and how to wrong glass can ruin the flavours. It was so fascinating to see as it was really clear when tasting. The Chardonnay was so fruit forward and well balanced from the Chardonnay glass, but tasted really sour from the Sauvignon Blanc glass. One of the reasons that the glassware changes your perception of flavour is that som glasses are designed so that the wine hits the tip of your tongue which works well for high acidity wines like Sauvignon Blanc or alternatively designed so that the wine hits the middle of your palate which works for wines like Chardonnay. Another really interesting experiment was trying white Lindt chocolate with Pinot Noir – in Maximilians words “the only chocolate that goes with Pinot Noir, is white chocolate” – which was really tasty when using the correct glass, but flavours just disappeared and changed out of the Cabaret Sauvignon glass.
Maximilian is very professional and brilliant at hosting tastings. He captivates the audience with remarkable timing, knowledge and showmanship and it was really a pleasure just to watch him present his glassware. It’s also so interesting to do it from a perspective of the glassware, rather from the winemaker. Maximilian is clearly a huge wine fan and knows his stuff, but he has learned it from working with wine makers, rather than being in the wine making industry himself.
The Veloce glasses are very light and thin which makes for a lovely drinking experience – and the design is just stunning, especially for the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay glasses in my opinion. They’re also made by machine, rather than being handmade and Maximilian explained that the art of making handblown glasses is dying so they’re turning to alternative technologies to move into the future, whilst still retaining high quality.
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