As Featured in The Wall Street Journal's Wine Notes Section July 2007 Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher's 'everyday glass'. Founded in 1521 Spiegelau is one of the oldest and most famous European manufacturers of fine crystal located in the small town of Spiegelau in the heart of the Bavarian Forest. Being one of the most picturesque parts of Germany this area has in recent times become as much a centre of tourism as well as a traditional center of glassmaking. Today the Spiegelau brand has become synonymous with quality stemware especially among the worlds leading sommeliers and wine connoisseurs. The machine-made Vino Grande Series is exceptionally beautiful and durable and is designed to enhance a wines flavor and bouquet. Each shape is specific to how the wine will aerate and how the bouquet will be delivered to your nose. Dishwasher safe. Size: 8-1/2'H 25 oz.

Set of six glasses, designed for Burgundy wines

Glasses hold a generous 25-ounces

Non-lead crystal

Each glass stands 8-1/2 inches high with a sturdy base and graceful stem

Dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning; made in Germany

Average Customer Review: ( 36 customer reviews )
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The glasses are made with lead crystal, but balance the delicacy of super-thin glasses with enough substance so you aren't constantly worried about breaking one (and even if you do, they are inexpensive enough to easliy replace). A case of six glasses costs about the same as 3 $15-$20 bottles of wine, and will enhance every bottle you drink. A great product.

22 of 23 found the following review helpful:

excellent inexpensive stemwareMar 02, 2005
By Mickey Shipwreck
I've been using Spiegelau wine glasses for several years, and they are excellent. The burgundy glass is great for any pinot noir based wine, and also for Piedmont wines made from nebbiolo (barolo, barbaresco, langhe). These glasses are designed to enhance the bouquet of those types of wine.

If you drink a lot of bordeaux, or cabernet sauvignon, I'd suggest Spiegelau's bordeaux glass. If your preference is zinfandel or chianti, you're a bit out of luck with Spiegelau however. Their chianti glass isn't very good. Try the Riedel Vinum chianti glass for these wines; you'll be knocked out by the way it focuses the bouquet.

Some reviewers have complained about breakage. I've seldom broken a glass, but it does occasionally happen during washing. My method is to clear the sink, run the water as hot as possible, put a bit of dishsoap in each glass. I then use a special ultra soft brush (which I got at a local wine shop for about $6) to clean the glass, removing fingerprints and especially the gunk around the rim. Then rinse thoroughly with very hot water. Invert on cloth. After about half an hour, with the glasses almost dry, you can wipe them off with paper towels (which don't leave any lint behind) and put them away.

The main thing is never to lay them down in the sink, and wash one glass at a time. Just do the wine glasses and pay attention to what you're doing. Don't try to stick your hand inside the bowl when drying; just use the paper towels.

Finally, even though these glasses are supposed to be dishwasher safe, I don't know why anybody who loves wine would put stemware in a dishwasher. Dishwashers always leave a film, and eventually their abrasive detergents will put microscopic scratches on the glasses, which lose their clarity as a consequence.

14 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Wonderful -- and VERY LARGEMar 11, 2005
By Rebecca N
These glasses are really wonderful for enjoying red wine. Their very large bowls really help the air exposure that brings out the flavors in a good red. The rims were thin and the stems delicate enough, but they didn't feel terribly fragile. Also, I thought the packaging was just fine. There was nothing wrong with this set in any way.

However, I wouldn't recommend these glasses to anyone who is a very casual wine drinker and wants to stay that way -- or anyone with very limited cupboard space. When I have wine enthusiasts over, they think these glasses are very appropriate. When I have others over, they think these are weird. The bowls are MUCH larger than your average red wine glasses. Expect to hear "Well, I know the red wine glasses are larger, but isn't this a little overboard?" Of course, these people don't realize that no -- the size of these bowls is great. But expect to have to explain.

So overall, in sum: Perfect for enjoying your red wine -- much larger than the standard size for reds, which helps you enjoy what you are drinking! If you don't want to have to explain the "weird" size to guests who don't understand red wine reasonably well, or want to save cupboard space, then perhaps avoid these and go for a more standard size red wine glass.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

You've never tasted wine like this....Dec 27, 2002
By K. Webster "starbucksgirl"
Beautiful glasses. I've been drinking wine for several years but didn't realize what I'd been missing until I drank wine out of one of these glasses. There is just no substitute; I'll never go back. The rim of these glasses is so thin and and the nose on your wine will make you swoon with delight.

The glasses are fragile and I have broken a few while handwashing, however, I started putting them in the dishwasher recently and there seems to be less breakage now. Just be gentle when transporting to the dishwasher. They are most likely to break in the rim area as the rim is very thin (but that is what makes the wine tasting so awesome)! Enjoy!

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:

fully satisfiedMar 14, 2006
By J. nusser
Very nice glasses! Especially at the price. Mine came overpacked in a huge box with lots of pillow pack, so they've heard and addressed the breakage complaints of prior reviews. Yes, you should hand wash; ours pick up minor water marks from drying in the dishwasher. Yes, they're somewhat fragile, but that's part of the experience of a fine crystal.

A couple of things helped us decide on these v. the Reidels or the other Spiegelaus: first, these are the ones recommended (twice over several years) by John & Dottie, the wine critics at the WSJ (yes, over the Reidels and over other Spiegelaus, considering the price.) They say "Both whites and reds show well in it."; 2nd, they're the right height (8.5 in) to fit in our kitchen cabinets (and dishwaher, but see water spots above). Taller glasses would have been a storage problem for us since our shelving for glasses has about a 9.25" spacing.

I'd buy them again and certainly recommend them.

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