Riedel – What’s in Your Cabinet?
Each year, Hospice du Rhône produces an exciting three-day wine event that is regarded as the single most educational and enjoyable gathering of international Rhône wine producers and enthusiasts. Attendees are treated to four in-depth wine seminars, a well as wine tastings and some great meals. But, arguably the most valuable aspect of this fabulous event is the opportunity for attendees to rub elbows with the very producers and winemakers whose enthusiasm for Syrah, Grenache and twenty other varieties of Rhône Valley grapes has inspired the passion in all of us.
We return to the 2009 HdR with our coverage of a somewhat unusual Riedel seminar. Normal Riedel seminars cover how different shapes of stemware affect the aroma and taste of different grape varieties. However, this seminar was devised to illustrate the differences of three syrah-based wines (2005 E. Guigal – St. Joseph, 2005 Elderton Shiraz – Barossa, 2007 Miner/Villard “La Diligence” Stagecoach Vnyd, Napa) when sampled from 4 different stems. Even more interesting, 3 of the 4 glasses were designed specifically for Syrah-based wines.
The “science” behind the shape of the wine glass seems to always cause conversation. Most non-science/engineering types of people are unable to explain the phenomena. Riedel explains it this way: the shape of the glass dictates the emission of aroma, somewhat based on how a person positions their head while drinking, which ultimately alters the way the wine flows into the mouth. By narrowing the rim of the glass, this focuses the drinker to tilt his head back, delivering the wine to potentially different zones of the tongue, which results in the brain perceiving different flavors. The volume of the glass, the diameter of its rim, the thickness of the crystal, and the finish also all play a role in the roll of the wine onto the tongue.
The Stemware used for this event were: Riedel Restaurant = Oregon Pinot glass #0447/07; Sommeliers = Hermitage 0400/30; Vinum Extreme = Syrah 4444/30; and Flow = Syrah 0407/30. that seeks to find the differences Based on the tried – and arguably true – impression that wines taste and smell different when consumed from different stemware.
For more info on Hospice du Rhone: www.hospicedurhone.org
For more info on Riedel, Wine Glass Company: www.riedel.com
Sponsor: VinAssure, Wine Preservation System: www.vinassure.com
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(1:16:36min 55MB)
What a sad, sad geek I am. Really. A radio show pulled from a visual presentation of glassware? And, the demonstration itself depended upon both the employment of both the sense of smell and taste? On the “radio?”
Why sad? I loved the program. I own an embarrassing number of Riedel stems and yet I learned lots of new and interesting stuff. This was a textbook example of the power of new media channels like podcasts and GrapeRadio.
Thanks for the show, boys.
Hi Rick,
I commiserate with you. These are my notes from the seminar, just to show you how this played out for me.
RIEDEL TASTING :
2005 E. Guigal – St. Joseph.
Riedel Restaurant stem – somewhat closed and austere, with a chalky/talc impression in mouthfeel, and austere finish.
Sommelier stem – bit more complex, picking up some licorice and tar influence and deeper texture in mouthfeel.
Vinum Extreme – nose was somewhat brighter, still some tar and licorice, and mouthfeel gets more lush.
Flow stem – nose is very austere, slightly muddled mouthfeel, somewhat bitter/interrupted finish.
2005 Elderton Shiraz – Barossa.
Riedel Restaurant stem – big, huge and slightly sweet, with a chalky/talc impression in mouthfeel, and sweet tasty finish.
Sommelier stem – more complexities appear, with major tar influence and more bass notes in the wine.
Vinum Extreme – nose gets noticably brighter, tar still there, and mouthfeel gets creamier.
Flow stem – nose is nearly closed, creamy mouthfeel, fine-grained tannins more obvious, somewhat bitter/interrupted finish.
2007 Miner/Villard “La Diligence” Stagecoach Vnyd, Napa.
Riedel Restaurant stem – very floral, with slightly sweet mouthfeel, bright minerality, tannic.
Sommelier stem – more expansive aromatics, licorice and tar more obvious, still somewhat tannic.
Vinum Extreme – very dense, with licorice and tar,nice finish.
Flow stem – widest of aromatics, yet also distinctly separate, bit chalky but big tasty mouthfeel.
Good show. I had the opportunity to attend one of these schools given by G. Riedel and it changed the way I drink wine forever.
BTW, I used to be able to download these shows to my ipod so I could take them on the road with me. This doesn’t seem to be working anymore, or I forgot how to do it. Can anyone help me.
Tim, try right-clicking the link above, and select “save target” or “Save link as” to someplace like the desktop (drag it if on a Mac). From there, use Windows Explorer (or drag it if on a Mac) to move it to iTunes to load to your iPod.
Eric
Thanks Eric. I think that is the way I used to do it. Now when I dump it into the podcast file in the itunes dirctory is is there, but not recongines when I try to play it thru itunes. I also have subscribed to Graperadio thru the Itunes store, and can see and play the programs while on my computer, but cannot save them so I can sinc them to my ipod for travel. So much trouble!!!
When I play this show I only can get the first 43 sec. Anyone else having this problem? Either as a download or just playing it from the web site.
Tim,
Try again. I cannot duplicate the problem.
Brian
Wow, wish I could attend an event like that! It would combine two of my hobbies into one. I love to travel and I love to wine taste, and usually when I travel I find wine tasting opportunities, even if it is just picking up a local wine in the neighborhood pub.
But this show would have been great! I will have to try the experiment with the different Riedel glasses. I know the glass can make a difference, but I never thought of trying different Riedel glasses to see what the effect would be.
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