Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Best bang for buck in wine glasses
I just got my set of Spiegelau Bordeaux glasses, and let me say how impressed I am, especially considering that these can be had packaged with the Spiegelau Burgundy glasses in a buy-one-get-one-free deal from Amazon. That's a TREMENDOUS deal.So what do you get for the money? Well, primarily, a high-quality, attractive glass that very nicely accentuates the nose (smell) of a wine. I won't wine-snob out, but really: they work. My wife and I even did blind sniff comparisons between the Spiegelau Bordeaux, a cheap 8 oz. spherical wine glass, and a mid-priced 16 oz. wide-bowl red wine glass. We both picked out the Spiegelau first try; it jumps out at you more, there's more depth, the scent is just stronger. Pretty amazing, actually. (NOTE: we used a Columbia Crest Merlot for our test, which is a nice, inexpensive, everyday wine. The glasses may work even better with wines like Cabernets, but I think any medium- to heavy-bodied red would benefit from the size and shape.) Will the Spiegelau make the wine taste better, as Riedel is supposed to do? In my opinion, not appreciably, except insofar as smell is such an important part of taste. However, considering that one Riedel Somellier costs as much as 12 Spiegelaus on Amazon, you won't see me buying the Riedel for a comparison anytime soon. I have my doubts that the Riedel can be that much better, and it seems to me that if you're gonna drop fifty bucks for a single glass you'll be eager to validate the purchase. But hey, these Riedel people are no doubt more sophisticated than me, so I could be wrong here. And in any case, it's Riedel's lower-priced Vinum line that's competing with these Spiegelaus, and the Vinum is more expensive than these for no real benefit. In any case, nothing comes close to the Spiegelaus for the price. I think it's a perfect wine glass set for moderate/casual drinkers, and especially those just starting to really enjoy wine. Oh, and one final thing: of *course* the glasses are thin - that's what you want, so that the glass gets out of the way of the wine. Just wash them carefully by hand and you won't have any problems. Any wineglass that isn't fragile isn't worth paying for.
Rating: - Excellent value
We try not to be "wine snobs" but find that we are now "wine glass snobs"! These glasses DO make a difference in the way wine tastes - we're guessing it has more to do with the way their shape focuses the bouquet than anything else. We have tried side by side taste tests with traditionally shaped/sized glasses and everyone agrees the wine is better from the Spiegelau's.
We have purchased all four sets of Spiegelau available on Amazon - the "generic" red and white sets plus the bordeaux and burgundy sets. All were delivered promptly, in perfect condition without breakage or chipping of any kind.
We use the bordeaux and burgundy sizes most of the time for the reds we drink. The generic white is a little too small for a chard but works for other whites. We use the generic red for the chards.
We can't compare Spiegelau to Riedel since we've never had wine from anything other than their cheapest glasses and we didn't care for those.
Yes, the glasses are fragile and require special handling - we wouldn't dare wash them in the dishwasher and handwashing requires extra care. But, this is a small inconvenience for the pleasure we get from the glasses.
The price with the bonus make these glasses a true bargain ...We haven't seen anything to beat that for the same quality of glass.
Rating: - The Best for Less
Why spend more on "that other manufacture's" glasses. These glasses are equal or better in quality to the Riedel machine blown glasses at about half the price. I love a good glass of wine, and now good wine glasses. I discovered Spiegelau approx. one year ago. They were recommended by the Sommelier at the Biltmore Estates Winery as the best value in quality stemware. Do yourself a favor, and pour a "big" Cab or Cab blend into one of these glasses and taste the wine like it was meant to be tasted. My other Spiegelau glasses (a different line) were very good, these are great. If you don't beleave me, ask people in the wine industry. That's what I did.
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