New glasses reshape beverage sales. (Food & Beverage).

The glassware revolution that Georg Riedel started a dozen years ago has now entered the mainstream in a big way. Riedel pioneered the notion that a wine glass should serve as a complement to the wine being served in it. Today, the notion that something as simple as a glass can be an important part of the dining experience--and the successful marketing of a dining venue--has caught on like wildfire.

Glassware especially designed for certain beverages is nothing new. In Belgium and in Germany, for example, where there are hundreds of different breweries, it was not unusual for beers in the 19th century and before to have had glasses specifically designed for their individual flavor and aroma profiles.

But it took the Riedels--father and son--to bring the concept to the American public of matching wine glass to wine. Claus Josef Riedel, the father of the clan, founded the company after World War II. It was he who created the classic egg-shaped wine glass used so widely today. Claus also realized that the bowls of wine glasses in use at that time were too small to allow the aromas and flavors of the wine to be fully appreciated.

It was son Georg, however, who really put Riedel on the map, quite literally. He did so by using the map of the human tongue's taste sensors to design glasses. There are four basic taste zones on the tongue: Sweetness is tasted at the tip, salt close to the tip, tartness at the edges and bitterness at the base. From there it was a relatively simple matter to shape glasses so that they delivered the maximum amount of sweetness in one wine and toned down a bitter note in another while opening up the wines' aromas--which are a huge component of taste.

Then Riedel--a master salesman--managed to gain acceptance for his concept from icons of the American wine industry such as the Mondavi family. His success is readily apparent. Today, Riedel glasses can be found everywhere at department stores and high-end wine merchants. Even carriage-trade grocery stores now carry displays of Riedel glassware.

Riedel markets four consumer lines topped by the hand-blown lead crystal "Sommelier" (each glass involves the work of some 25 craftspersons). The other three lines--in descending level of price--are the machine-made Vinum, Overture, and Wine lines. Whether hand-blown or machine-made, Riedel glasses are noted for their quality, with pieces consigned to the scrap heap at the end of the manufacturing process for even the slightest imperfections. Riedel offers over 100 shapes of glasses for wine and other beverages.

While Riedel saw on-premise use in some high-end wine venues, its high price--about $25 a stem for the machine-made Vinum--worked against widespread acceptance and lead competitors to see fertile ground. In early 2002, Riedel introduced its "Restaurant" line, which is sold only for on-premise use.

"It has been a major success," said Maximillian Riedel, vice president of administration for Riedel. "Our competitors were copying us and copying us cheaper. We decided `If they copy us, we will copy our high-end.' Riedel Restaurant line is based on the Vinum line. It is the same as vinum but without lead addition. It is still perfect glass, but not crystal. It has a bigger base in terms of the on-premise use, and is more reinforced," Riedel said. And, he noted, the Restaurant line is affordably priced at between $3.50 and $5.00.

One of the competitors who has come 6n the scene recently is Oneida, which has just released the "Top Ten Sommelier Collection" by Schott-Zweisel. The European glass manufacturer assembled a team of seven sommeliers to determine the shapes that would be offered in the line. The line includes shapes ranging from a full-bodied red wine to a barrel-aged spirits glass.

"One of the things we're finding out is that there are a lot of people who want to have the proper wine glass but don't want to spend $15-$20 per stem," said Decker Reidpath, executive director of marketing for Oneida. The glassware is made using Schott-Zwiesel's "Tritan" glass technology, which was created to produce a crystal-like glass that is scratch- and break-resistant.

The choices available for club managers make the selection process difficult, as Jonathon McCabe, CCM, general manager of the Union League Club of Chicago (ULC) will attest. "What we wanted when someone ordered our upper end wines was to give them something that was appropriate for that product. We have 350 choices on the wine lists and a captain's list with Bordeaux wines that go back to the `70s," McCabe said.

During last year's restaurant show in Chicago, McCabe organized an informal tasting among some of his club manager colleagues to test some shapes of glasses for the club. Among the glasses that the ULC examined were the lines from Riedel, Bottega del Vino, and a hand-blown stem from Bormioli Rocco. McCabe was particularly taken with the latter line.

In the end, "We were swayed," McCabe recounted in amusement. His board members felt that the name recognition of Riedel was important. Since that decision was made, the ULC has capitalized on it. While by-the-glass wines are still served in the club's old barware, servers make sure that purchasers of full bottles get the Riedel Restaurant glasses, and that they are informed of the fact. McCabe also intends to use the Riedel name on his wine list.

Wine service is not the only area where glassware can make a difference. Last year Riedel introduced bourbon, tequila, sherry, and pilsner glasses. The bourbon glass was produced in cooperation with the makers of Jim Beam. Libbey has introduced two new bold martini glasses designs--the "Bravura" and the "Omega," as well as a margarita glass.