What wine glass do you use for your Douro wines?

[Andy Velebil]

Since lots of us talk about Port glasses, I rarely if ever hear people talk about Douro wine glass usage. So the Graham's Blog inspired the question....
What type of wine glass or glasses do you prefer to use with Douro dry wines?

This applies to both red and white wines. It would be great if you could list not only the manufacturer but also the model if known. And a picture would also be helpful if you have one.

[Russ K]

I try to use one with no leaky bits, other than that not too picky...

[Roy Hersh]

For analysis of Douro whites/reds, the Riedel Chianti glass.

For pure enjoyment of Douro reds, often times a broader Burgundy glass like the Schott Z.

For sheer enjoyment of Douro whites, most often the Riedel Chianti glass and occasionally the aforementioned SZ.

[Moses Botbol]

I use a regular Bordeaux glass, I could see using a Burgundy glass, but all of mine have broke. I haven't done a glass horizontal with Douro's and don't want to find out my wine glasses are not ideal and have to go shopping. Ignorance is bliss.

[Rune EG]

I am using a type of glass made here in Norway called Hadeland Sentimento Salina 50 cl.
Have attached it in order for you to see.
Have tried many glasses before ending up with this one.
Using it also for port, especially the tasting part

[Ronald Wortel]

It depends. For fresh whites like Tiara, Tres Bagos etc. a SZ white wine glass. More complex whites like Redoma Reserva or Guru from SZ Burgundy. Classic styled Douro reds (e.g. Chryseia, Pintas, Vale Meão) from SZ Bordeaux, and a wine like Charme would go into SZ Burgundy. All my glasses are from the Schott Zwiesel Diva series.

[Daniel R.]

SZ Diva Burgundy:

[Moses Botbol]

Has anyone bought Riedel's Touriga Nacional glass?

[Andy Velebil]

Has anyone bought Riedel's Touriga Nacional glass?

Can't say I've ever seen it, what does it look like shape wise?

[Moses Botbol]

Has anyone bought Riedel's Touriga Nacional glass?

Can't say I've ever seen it, what does it look like shape wise?

It looks like they are using the Syrah glass from what I can see. I thought it was a unique glass as some list it as it is:

[Andy Velebil]

Has anyone bought Riedel's Touriga Nacional glass?

Can't say I've ever seen it, what does it look like shape wise?

It looks like they are using the Syrah glass from what I can see. I thought it was a unique glass as some list it as it is:

Yes, looks like some glasses I already have from them.

[Cynthia J]

Andy, thanks for posting the link to the Blog - and it's worth going back for another look - on 23 March the Lodge team was taken through a tasting of dry table wines in Riedel glasses (Another Day, Another Tasting). A little more detail for this audience: we started with the Altano Branco 2009 in the Sauvignon Blanc Riedel glass and it definitely was the best choice, as discussed in blog post. The Altano Tinto Reserva was first served in the Vinum Bordeaux glass, again the best choice for this wine.

Rosa said Portuguese wines are a challenge to Riedel, as the best wines are so often blends and with all the grapes we've got, the possibilities are endless. The ultimate recommendation for fresh, young white styles is the Sauvignon Blanc (Vinum 6416/33). If it is more mature, and/or oaked, then the Vinum Montrachet (6416/97). For complex blended reds, the Vinum Bordeaux (6416/0), for lighter fruitier, fresh red styles the Vinum Burgundy (6416/07). For the tasting, the white first served in the Montrachet glass was a Chilean Chardonnay, and in the Burgundy glass, a (real! French!) Burgundy (pinot noir, need I say). I apologise, I do not have the exact names of those two wines - I will say the burgundy they showed was much lighter weight and simple than the ones I've been used to. I did not see the bottle, but I wonder if it was a villages, maybe from Volnay or Pommard, or just Côtes de Beaune. Although it was pleasant and smooth, it was flimsy compared to my taste memories of wines from the Côtes d'Or. (Burgundy was my first wine love, but I broke up with it when Portugal seduced me!)

I'm with Moses, I hate to learn the glasses I already own are hopelessly unsuited for drinking anything but chocolate milk. We asked, if we can only afford one red and one white glass, what do we go for? On the retail level, it's the Sauvignon Blanc and Bordeaux Vinum glasses cited above. If you have trade contacts who can get the Riedel restaurant lines for you, they have a Degustazione promotion Red Wine 0489/0 and White Wine 0489/01 which are, I think, fundamentally the same. The professional glasses have a tiny bit less capacity and the white is 9 mm shorter, which, comparing the to-scale photos in the catalogs, looks to have come out of the stem only.

Looking at the 2011 catalogs (retail and restaurant) I do not see a Touriga Nacional glass listed, nor is the variety listed in their table of varieties/glass shapes. I will ask Rosa and report back. FYI for those unaware: Portfolio Vinhos is an SFE subsidiary which distributes SFE and other wines in Portugal, and also distributes Riedel here. Rosa Teixeira is the dedicated saleswoman for Riedel in Portugal - so she is an expert, and has worked with Georg and his team on the Portugese Wine Glass Issue !!

Also... disclaimer: although I nosed all the wines in all the glasses (all four wines eventually were tried in all four glasses) I did not actually taste. But I can tell you some of the photos I took of tasting from the wrong glasses are hysterically funny and unpublishable for the looks on people's faces! It's when acidity goes wrong, that it really gets entertaining!