Spoiler: The same wine poured into two different glasses actually smells and tastes different.
Your glass matters more than you think
Get into any wine conversation and it will likely be about what is IN the bottle but the glass it goes INTO barely gets a mention.
That is what the RIEDEL Wine Glass Experience is designed to show. Run in partnership with Cellarmaster Wines Singapore and held for Just Wine Club members, the session puts that idea to the test. Participants taste the wines in their varietal-specific glasses and compare selected wines across different glass shapes to notice what changes.
What is the RIEDEL Veloce Tasting Set?
The RIEDEL Veloce Tasting Set contains four crystal glasses, each designed for a specific grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Oaked Chardonnay and Riesling
Each glass was developed through a RIEDEL Sensory Workshop, a structured tasting process refined over decades with winemakers, sommeliers and sensory experts. The RIEDEL Veloce series is machine-produced at RIEDEL’s factory in Weiden, Germany using technology built specifically to achieve the precision of handmade glass at scale. The bowls are lighter and finer than previous machine-made ranges, and each glass has the grape variety inscribed on its base.
Why does glass shape matter?
Smell accounts for most of what we perceive as taste. The bowl of a wine glass captures and concentrates the wine's aromas. The width of that bowl, the angle at which it tapers, and the diameter of the rim all affect which aromatic compounds reach your nose and how intensely.
The rim diameter and glass shape influence the wine’s flow, the amount delivered with each sip and how its acidity, fruit, sweetness and tannin are perceived. Small changes in glass design produce noticeably different drinking experiences from the same bottle.
RIEDEL's philosophy is that the glass is the wine's loudspeaker. Get the shape right and the wine communicates more clearly. Get it wrong and something is lost before it reaches you.
What the four RIEDEL Veloce glasses do
RIEDEL Veloce Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Glass
A wide bowl with a relatively large opening. The extra surface area lets a full-bodied red breathe and express its darker fruit aromas. The wider rim also softens the perception of tannin on the palate.
RIEDEL Veloce Riesling Wine Glass
A narrower bowl with a tapered opening. This preserves the freshness and acidity that defines Riesling, concentrating its citrus and floral notes upward without letting them dissipate. In a wider glass, those fresh and lifted characteristics may appear less focused.
RIEDEL Veloce Pinot Noir Wine Glass
A broader, rounder bowl than the RIEDEL Veloce Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Glass. Pinot Noir is delicate and aromatic, so the wider bowl gives those lighter, more volatile aromas room to gather before reaching your nose. Pour the same wine into a Cabernet Sauvignon glass and it smells noticeably thinner.
RIEDEL Veloce Oaked Chardonnay Wine Glass
A slightly wider opening than the RIEDEL Veloce Riesling Wine Glass, suited to a wine with more body, more fruit and often some oak. The extra space allows richer, rounder aromas to express themselves properly.
What happens at the masterclass
The session works around a simple exercise. Participants taste the same wine across multiple glasses and note what changes.
A Riesling poured into an Oaked Chardonnay glass may appear rounder and heavier. Taste the same wine from the RIEDEL Veloce Riesling Wine Glass and its freshness, citrus character and acidity become more clearly defined. The wine has not changed, but the glass shape has changed how its aromas and balance are perceived.
No wine knowledge is needed to notice the difference. You just need the right set of glasses and the same wine poured twice. That is the point of the experience: to make something that sounds technical feel immediately, tangibly real.
More events like this
The RIEDEL Wine Glass Experience is one of several experiences Just Wine Club runs for its members throughout the year. Events like these are where membership goes beyond the discount and into something you can actually taste. Keep an eye out on your inbox to find out when the next one opens up.
