WBC14 Glassware Sponsor – Riedel Crystal

It is no doubt that wine is a sensory experience; the Wine Bloggers Conference brings  hundreds of members of the new media discipline of blogging together every year to sniff, swirl, and sip on wines from a different wine region – with the pre-conference wine activities, program content, lunches and dinners, and post-conference excursions at WBC14 that include side trips to Bridlewood Estates Winery and the wineries in the Funk Zone of Santa Barbara, CA, bloggers have the opportunity to taste, literally, hundreds of different wines this July 11-13, 2014.

The sensory experience at the upcoming 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference is being heightened by Riedel, the Austrian wine glass company that has been making wine glasses for over 250 years.  The Wine Bloggers Conference is thrilled to announce the 2014 partnership with Riedel, who is the official provider of glassware for the conference.  Riedel is furnishing glassware for all wines tasted this coming July 11-13.

Established in 1756 and currently managed by Georg J. Riedel (10th generation) and his son, Maximilian J. Riedel (11th generation), the Riedel company is charged with the innovation in creating varietal specific glasses in the 1950’s.  This innovation matches shape and nuances of the glass that are specifically paired with grape varieties.

The Bowl – Riedel’s signature differentiation

The bowls of Riedel glassware are the most visible, signature difference among their stemmed glassware lines.  Each glass, specific to a different varietal reflects a distinct shape, size, and rim.  Riedel aims to deliver the individual “message” of each varietal and wine by delivering superior aromatic expression, perception of texture and mouthfeel and finish.  Following the design principle that “form follows function”, the thin-blown, unadorned glassware looks beautiful with or without any wine in the glass.

Riedel still makes many of their glassware lines using the traditional, mouth-blown technique that has been in existence since the Romans started blowing glass some 2,000 years ago.  The Kufstein factory, located in the mountainous Austrian state of Tyrol, near Germany’s Bavarian border, exclusively produces hand-blown lead glass products.  The other three factories, Weiden, Frauenau, and Amberg, focus on automated production.

The company has developed an app to help users determine what glass matches with what wine.  Popular, grape varietal specific glassware collections include:

– The Sommeliers Collection, an original, classic line that features mouth-blown, lead crystal.

– The Vinum line, unleashed in 1986, which was the first machine-made lead crystal glass in history to be based on the characteristics of individual grape varieties.

– The Wine line which was made for customers who want the full “key to wine” concept, but with a more decorated stem.

– The O Wine Tumbler line, the original stemless wine glass that abides by Riedel’s commitment to creating varietal specific glasses.  Currently celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary of being part of the Riedel collection.