The wine glass con

Many serious aficionados suspect we are being conned into buying different wineglasses just for the sake of it. Admittedly, there are some breathtaking glasses on the market, accompanied by equally beautiful decanters, and manufacturers spend huge sums to persuade us to acquire them - especially with Christmas coming.

The pitch never varies: wine tastes better in expensive, carefully tailored serving containers. Yet, exhaustive tests have demonstrated that even experienced tasters fail to consistently distinguish the same wine served across different glass shapes.

Nevertheless, a few premier names have dominated the industry for decades: Riedel, Schott Zwiesel and Spiegelau. Riedel is particularly noteworthy for its relentless market segmentation, engineering varietal-specific glasses for everything from Bordeaux and Burgundy to Nebbiolo, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Champagne.

Their lineup spans five price tiers, starting with the baseline Vinum series (around 50-100 euros for four). Mid-tier options include Riedel Veritas (90-125 euros for four, with two-glass Riesling/Zinfandel sets at 59.90 euros) and Riedel Performance (around 90-120 for four, or 119.80 for a four-glass tasting set). At the high end sits Fatto a Mano, commanding upwards of 300-350 euros for four, while their current Black Tie tasting set will set you back 342.40 euros.

Ultimately, whether these specialised shapes genuinely alter the chemistry on your palate or merely capitalise on sophisticated marketing, one thing remains clear: while the scientific benefits of varietal glassmaker design are debatable, the prestige pricing is undeniable.