Blog

Zalto Glassware

When you break it down to its simplest parts, there are three ingredients needed for the enjoyment of great wine:

1. Great Wine 
2. The ability to smell and taste 
3. A glass  

Anyone who drinks wine regularly will tell you that the glass you drink from can have a huge impact on the overall experience.   So when it comes to enjoying wine and getting the most out of it, what is the best glass on the market? 

A strong contender is the Austrian brand Riedel (pronounced Reed-ul, not Ri-Dell).   No person has done more to promote the use of wine specific glassware than George Riedel.  A testament to the quality, innovation and popularity of these glasses is their ubiquity.  You can find Riedel glassware in fine dining restaurants, wineshops and quality homeware stores across the globe.  The range is enormous, with a glass for every variety and occasion.   There is no doubt these are beautifully crafted and sure to enhance your drinking experience.  The one drawback I and many others have found is that they tend to be quite fragile.  I have lost count of the number of glasses I have smashed, cracked and snapped over the years.  The tap, sink and dish drying rack is their enemy...  

Then, seven years ago my life changed.  I was gifted a set of Zalto glasses, in both the Bordeaux and Burgundy shape.   Zalto is also from Austria, mouth-blown, and with an incredibly fine stem.   The really surprising thing about Zalto glassware is that for a glass that looks and feels so fine and fragile, they are remarkably durable.   So although they do not come cheap, they tend to last longer than Riedel on average, at least in my household.  I can personally attest to the fact that Zalto glasses make a wine taste better, and if you are looking for maximum enjoyment from your favourite Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo or Shiraz, they are the only choice.   If you don’t believe me (I’ve been drinking and tasting wines for over 20 years, and have used just about every glass style and brand on the market at some point), here is what some of the worlds greatest wine tasters and writers have to say:

Jancis Robinson MW: “... my current favourite glasses have taken me into a whole new territory of sensual pleasure. Zalto glasses…are hand-blown, do not contain lead oxide so do not get cloudy, and combine an angular bowl shape with the thinnest glass I have yet come across.”
 
François Mauss, President of the ‘Grand Jury European’: “I didn’t think that there would be anything better on the glass-market....this glass is.”
 
Jamie Goode, The Sunday Express, UK: “I’ve recently come across another glass manufacturer whose glasses I really love: Zalto. These are truly beautiful hand blown glasses that are amazingly light and delicate, yet quite flexible and resilient too.”
 
Wine Experience currently stocks a range of Zalto glassware in Brisbane including the Zalto Universal glass, Zalto Burgundy glass (Our favourite for Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo) and Zalto White Wine glass.  So please call or email to confirm availability and pricing.  

Cheers

Scott