WTN: 1 wine, 2 different Grassl glasses

[David M. Bueker]

• 2015 Ultramarine Blanc de Noirs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/19/2024)
  Experimented with two different Grassl glasses, the Liberté and the Champagne glass, and the wine showed completely different in each. From the Liberté it was much deeper/richer, with ripe apple fruit and a distinct baking spice finish. It showed as a big wine. From the Champagne stem it was significantly brighter, tending towards a quince fruit or maybe Asian Pear. Much crisper and youthful. Both expressions were delicious, and I would make completely different cellaring decisions depending on which glass I had it from, though there’s no rush in any event. Bottom line is that we both loved the wine, and that’s really all that matters.

From the Liberté it was much deeper/richer, with ripe apple fruit and a distinct baking spice finish. It showed as a big wine. From the Champagne stem it was significantly brighter, tending towards a quince fruit or maybe Asian Pear. Much crisper and youthful. Both expressions were delicious, and I would make completely different cellaring decisions depending on which glass I had it from...

Amazing how much the glass matters.

[David M. Bueker]

Indeed. Terry Theise has taken to sampling wines from three different glasses for his website tasting notes, which is partially prompted this.

Indeed. Terry Theise has taken to sampling wines from three different glasses for his website tasting notes, which is partially prompted this.

Wow. That is thorough.

I generally don't get too obsessed with the fine points of glasses that are all essentially the same shape. I think I'm a good enough taster to evaluate the wine for my purposes. But, I know I don't always get the best read when I go to friends' houses who like to serve wine in those tumblers. So I never take precious bottles to those occasions.

[David M. Bueker]

The two glasses I used in this experiment are very different. The Liberté is a relatively straightforward wine glass with tall sloping sides. The Grassl Champagne glass is very much a tulip shape.

Of course in less fun news the Champagne glass snapped off at the stem the very second I started trying to wash it. Totally new glass being properly handled for washing (i.e., not by the stem). Must have had a flaw in the stem somewhere.

[Jenise]

It has amazed me at group tastings where everyone brings their own glass and someone whose palate I respect is sitting there smelling onion skin when I'm smelling strawberries and white pepper. Like it's two entirely different wines. We'll sometimes exchange glasses for a moment just to compare.

[David M. Bueker]

Laura and I routinely have a Champagne in two or three different glasses. Largely that’s because she prefers the smaller Grassl Mineralité glass, and we then sample my my Liberté and hers. Then we have some larger tulips (much larger than the Grassl) that we often trot out for curiosity’s sake. The wine is very different depending on glass, and sometimes we down select to one if there is a clear winner.