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- Verified Buyer
Riedel is one of the most famous glassware manufacturers in the world , if not THE most. The Austria company had been making glasswares since 1756! And the company had also been passed down within the Riedel family. And fast-forward to 1986, their 10th generation owner, Georg Riedel, created this particular "Vinum" series of machine-made, varietal specific, crystal wine glasses.So these "Riedel Vinum Cabernet Sauvignon" glasses may be in a new 2021 "265 years anniversary" package, but they had been a staple in the fine "wine drinking" world for quite some years (35 years!!). And still, this design, is absolutely THE signature, THE classic, and THE glass for all others to compare to.Even though, the "Vinum" series has more than n-number of "varietal" specific/enhancing glass/shape, this "Cabernet Sauvignon" (also for Merlot/Bordeaux) variant remains my favorite of all time. Perfect balance between, bowl size, rim opening, stem height, glass weight, and thinness/thickness of the crystal glass (vs durability/fragility). The big bowl allows great aeration while the smaller rim circumference intensify the aroma of your wine; being able to truly "smell" your wine, greatly enhances the whole wine drinking experience. The bowl and the stem ratio, also allow you to be able to "swirl" your wine easily, without the risk of splashing; with some practice, you will be able to swirl wines like a pro in no time. Furthermore, the size of the rim also works wonderfully for me to place the glass on my lips and drink the wine, while having my nose completely indulge in the aroma of the fine wine (inhaling while drinking the wine).I use this "shape" as my go-to, generic "red wine" glass most of the time; while, I even use this for my whites. I found that this glass basically enhances any wines I am drinking. So, in my opinion, if you have to buy 1 and only 1 "hi-end" wine glass to up your wine drinking game, this IS THE one.Another I do want to point out too, these glasses are dishwasher safe! It may be mind-bothering to imagine putting these thin, fragile, crystal glasses into your dishwasher, but these glasses had been independently certified as dishwasher safe for up to 1500 washes! As long as you stack them correctly, using stem rack, and making sure they don't touch each other or anything else inside the dishwasher. I washes mine in the dishwasher all the time (for more than 10 years), and I have yet to break one inside my dishwasher.This package of 6 "Riedel Vinum Cabernet" glasses is definitely not cheap, but like most fine stuffs, they don't come in cheap. Yet, even at such a high cost, I still think that it is totally worth it. Serving friends and family with these glasses give you instant respect, and anyone will certainly be impressed by these.These come nicely packaged and well protected; you can see that they put quite a lot of thoughts and design into "the box". Afterall, it cost $25 a glass, and they are fragile, so it would be a shame, if these didn't survive the Amazon trip.Thank you for reading this review, I hoped that this review & the pictures are helpful to you in support of your purchase decision.My father, who was far from pretentious or complicated, always stressed the importance of using the appropriate glass for your beverage, but especially so with a glass of good wine. That might slightly vary for your individual preference and sensibilities. But for me that means a generous capacity to allow the wine to breathe, thin glass walls to feel delicate and convey the etherial quality that was involved in the wine making process, and a stem sturdy enough to be functional but also delicate enough to contribute to the tactile element. Reidel is an old and established company with generations of experience in perfecting their craft, and these glasses reflect it. Delicate enough without being unusable for fear of shattering. A stem easy to hold but not being too tall to be unwieldy. Packaged very securely to make sure your glasses arrive in one piece. If you're looking to buy a high quality set of cabernet glasses, you probably cannot find a better fit and classic design. I didn't give a full 5 stars only because I believe at 25 dollars a glass, these may not reflect a solid value, only because I have seen them available in certain outlets at a substantial discount. If you cant wait or have no desire to shop around for a better price, then, whole heartedly recommended. I believe it goes without saying, don't even think about putting them in a dishwasher, but gently hand wash and gently dry to avoid any water spots and with a modicum of care, they should last for years.Wine...one of the few things in this world that evokes fun, casual images as well as bougie-ness and snobbery. Admittedly, when I first saw the price of Riedels a few years ago, I thought people were nuts to spend on that on GLASSES. I mean, do they pour the wine for you????tl;dr: You don't have to be a wine snob to appreciate how these will transform your wine. If you do consider yourself a wine snob (or a very knowledgeable wine person) and are on the fence about these, do yourself a favor and at least give them a try and compare.As I got more into wine and a few very educational trips to different wine regions, I noticed nearly every winery and tasting room was using Riedel. I was baffled because there were certainly less expensive options they could use. Then finally, in a class I took they discussed the glassware at length and how it does make a difference. Clever marketing? I don't know but when I needed new champagne glasses, I found I preferred the shape of the Riedels to some of the more "spindley" types of champagne glasses so I splurged. I was definitely impressed with the difference with the bubbles, the scent profile, and how it opened up more. Maybe it was me getting better at identifying more of the subtleties but I still think the glasses made a big difference.Now, I had some more generic red wine Riedels that I got at a large wine tasting event and they were our go-to glasses. I have other Riedels I've slowly collected (port, tequila, pinot noir glasses) but never had any that were truly for merlot/cab...ironically cab is probably one of our most frequented styles. I'm happy to say that these perform as well as my other Riedels and are just perfect. They're large enough for any exuberant swirl but not disproportionate and they easily fit in the dishwasher. I love that they're dishwasher safe as well. Any glass that requires handwashing is not the glass for me. You can also scan the QR code on the glasses for more detailed info from Riedel directly which is nice and convenient if you want more info than you could ever want about the why different glasses and how they effect the performance of the wine you're drinking.I'm thrilled to add these to my collection...and it just started with some champagne glasses...If red wine (cab/merlot) is your thing, then these are an excellent gift to yourself or anyone. Highly recommended!This lower priced - $25 per glass set is a nice gift for someone who is into wine. The glasses are lovely, and they can brag about drinking from Riedel.Packaging is great, they were shipped to me with no breakage.
