The Miraculous Breathable Glass

At a wine dinner last night a friend pulled out a brochure advertising something called Breathable Glass. The glass's picture in the brochure makes it appear to be more or less ordinary stemware, but the hype in the brochure says a wine "poured into this glass for just two to four minutes will show signs of aeration equivalent to the same wine that has been decanted for 1 to 2 hours." It goes on, "The fully natural process takes place within the wine itself, just in minutes. The original character and structure of the wine are preserved, yet the wine's aroma and palate impression become more open and generous, just as they would with an hour or more of aeration."

The hype is acompanied by a testimonial from Dan Berger, who writes that in his experiment with the glass, "a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir were clearly (though slightly) improved by the breathable glass over the non-breathable. And a [Breathable Glass] Champagne flute really relped an otherwise average Champagne."

My customary skepticism is reinforced by the absence of anything in the brochure that explains how this magical glass gets its job done. This afternoon I noticed that one of my favorite wine merchants is carrying the glass, but before I start teasing him about it would somebody please explain what the heck this is all about. The company that makes this thing is Eisch Glaskultur, in Frauenau, Germany.

Last I heard, Riedel were suing them. Not for copyright infingement (Riedel passed on the offer of the invention), but because they reckoned they (Riedel) proved it didn't work.

Not sure where the case has got to.

[Robin Garr]

At a wine dinner last night a friend pulled out a brochure advertising something called Breathable Glass. The glass's picture in the brochure makes it appear to be more or less ordinary stemware, but the hype in the brochure says a wine "poured into this glass for just two to four minutes will show signs of aeration equivalent to the same wine that has been decanted for 1 to 2 hours."

This sounds like a simple variation on the genre of "enhancer" scams, just another twist on the whole range of things that you pour wine through or place it on or expose it to in order to purportedly make the wine better.

It's a shame about Berger ... as I recall, Anthony Dias Blue and even the divine Jancis have been persuaded to test and compliment similar toys, to their later embarrassment.

they work, in that they CHANGE certain wines - for the better or worse is another question

i have tried them many, many times and I can almost always pick out the one with the breathable glass - with certain wines, 100% of the time

i have two glasses that look exactly the same except one is the breathable glass

no question that for certain wines it makes a big difference (moreso with young tannic reds, but it has worked with some whites)

in some cases, though it makes a wine worse! it actually makes it taste raisiny - oxidized

and other times it doesn't seem to make a difference at all

my question was whether the effect lasts -- wouldn't the oxygen wavelength bombarded glass wear out with use, losing its ability to change a wine?

This sounds like a simple variation on the genre of "enhancer" scams, just another twist on the whole range of things that you pour wine through or place it on or expose it to in order to purportedly make the wine better.

It's a shame about Berger ... as I recall, Anthony Dias Blue and even the divine Jancis have been persuaded to test and compliment similar toys, to their later embarrassment.

Hey! I love my Vinturi! It did "work" when tested in the shop.

My local merchant was pushing this line a few months back.
My immediate question was "if this works, then why do bottlers spend so much effort making sure that oxygen doesn't get into the bottle'?
I'm not sure exactly how long the proprietor stood there with his mouth open, trying to think of a reply.

Incidentally, our group's evaluation of several wines being opened and/or decanted etc, showed that pouring straight from the bottle was consistently preferred (in blind tastings), regardless of age of wine or style.

I just tried them again with an Esser Cab

I got it right again, and it was easy

the one in the breathable glass had a fruitier nose that jumped out of the glass, and the palate was smoother with a roundness to it

better? not sure, but different, yes.

Today I tried Hoya De Cadenas Reserva 2002, and I couldn't detect a difference between the two glasses after a 5 minute "treatment"

So, I put both samples into the breathable glass and had it with lunch

and, after about 45 minutes, when I was getting near the end of the glass, the wine had deteriorated to what I'd call an oxidized wine if served at a resto - interesting!

Anectdotal reports are interesting, but I'd like to see theresults of a double blind test.


(because to be honest it sounds like bollo to me)

Usually when these dubious wine aids come on the market their purveyors make attempts to explain how the things work. But while the flyers that accompany this one make claims for what it does they don't say how it does it. Strange.

[Jenise]

Clint, I was given some and couldn't notice any difference at all. My principal reaction to them was dislike over their height, which in my house means they'll break faster. Sure enough, they're both gone. I believe Eric Asimov of the NYT reviewed the glasses not long ago and found they worked somewhat--someone posted here about it.

Like I said before, I've tried them many times, and sometimes the difference is STRIKING. Especially in the nose. I think a novice would easily pick out the difference with most of the young reds I have tested.

I spoke to the representative about how they work. It has nothing to do with porosity or the glass "breathing" - that's just a name (a bad one when you consider what I just said). He said the glass is bombarded with waves at the same angstroms as the wavelength of oxygen...what the hell?

I spoke to the representative about how they work. It has nothing to do with porosity or the glass "breathing" - that's just a name (a bad one when you consider what I just said). He said the glass is bombarded with waves at the same angstroms as the wavelength of oxygen...what the hell?

Pseudoscientific gibberish at its worst. Which is not to say that the glasses don't work, just that the explanation offered is nonsensical. In thinking about this, it could work. Here's how I see it: create a glass that incorporates a redox-active metal like Cu, Fe, Cr, etc. which can catalyze the reaction of O2 with the polyphenolics of wine. I've read that the rate of oxidation of polyphenolics is far greater with H2O2 than with O2, so anything that catalyzes the reduction of O2 (i.e., by oxidizing something in the wine) will speed up oxidation. Of course, it would be near impossible to control, so your observation about the wine tasting tired or oxidized would be an expected outcome. Now, do I believe that that's what is going on here? No, but it is possible.

Mark

If it ain't broke don't fix it

Is anything actually broke here? (apart from people that buy such 'wine accessories').

I want my wine to age, I cellar it (or buy it mature). Nothing broke here as far as I'm concerned.

agreed 100%

i was given the two glasses to test - it makes for great party tricks

i was also given one of those bottle magnets which seems to prematurely oxidize wine in a hurry too - it also makes a good bookend (correction - it's too ugly for that, and apparently dangerous for my friends with pacemakers)

but do I need or want these items?

no