Riedel Wine Tasting

[pbrmom]

Has anyone done the Riedel Wine Tasting? It's $80 per person, seems a bit steep even with the glasses. And do they box up the glasses after the tasting so you can easily disembark with them?

[NCCruiseguy111]

Well worth the price. I was a skeptic but now am honestly a wine glass snob, not a wine snob. The tasting was fun and I don't recall what the cost of the glasses are if purchased elsewhere but we felt we got value for the money and have purchased additional Riedel glasses since. Go for it! You don't get the same glasses you used, they ship them home for you, at least that's what we had 4 years ago!

[WAVTAM]

Has anyone done the Riedel Wine Tasting? It's $80 per person, seems a bit steep even with the glasses. And do they box up the glasses after the tasting so you can easily disembark with them?

 

As a person with a 800 wine cellar at home, I can whole hardly endorse the Riedel concept. (Try for yourself and you'll see). We even have the Riedel coke glasses after tasting test.

 

They use to provide the glasses direct to you, but because of complaints with breakage on packing home, they now provide coupon for purchase. (Though glasses are free the shipping is an added cost.)

The price is now $89/pp.

This is the Vinum class of glasses. If you compare prices to like Amazon, the tasting is a good value.

[prim8keeper]

We signed up for on the ship a few years ago and at that time you could do it without buying the glasses for only $15 pp. Not sure if it is the same price, but I know you can still just do the tasting. Given that there are so many types of Riedel glasses you can buy I personally like this route so you can buy what you want once you get home. As the other posters said, well worth the price.

Edited May 8, 2016 by prim8keeper

[dutchclogs]

I did the wine tasting alone last year.

 

Think I paid $25 ? The shipping costs to Europe was prohibitive, so I decided against that option. Don't think it was possible to carry off board (this was in Med). Did enjoy though, agree go for it!

[kathynorth]

We did the tasting and were surprised with the difference when using the Reidel vs. regular wine glasses. We received a coupon that gave a code to input online. The glasses arrived about 2 weeks later. I use my Reidels all the time. One perk we received was that after the tasting our sommelier served our dinner wine in Reidel glasses for the remainder of the cruise.

[bbappel]

We did this on a Caribbean cruise, and since we had driven to Florida we chose to carry off our glasses. They weren't the glasses we used for the tasting but were a complete set. If you chose to have them shipped, you could choose 4 glasses of one type rather than one of each. This was January 2015 so maybe it has changed.

 

It was fun and the glasses are great but they are quite fragile. Sadly, I've broken one of the red wine glasses while drying it. I was very careful but as I was drying I heard a ping and looked down and it had cracked a hole into the glass bowl part. I know that has a proper name but I can't think of it right now. Maybe it was the 2 glasses of wine with dinner. :p

 

Beth

[trbarton]

I'm new to the "Riedel wine glasses". What can you say about these wine glasses compared to regular wine glasses? I assume that there are different types of glasses. I looked on-line and I see that there are a tumbler plus the regular wine glass. It looks like the red wine glass and tumbler are different that the white wine glass and tumbler. Which one do you prefer and why? Is this a must have?

 

I read that they give you a coupon that use for an online order but you have to pay for shipping.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Tom:)

[Moonlitherial]

It depends on what wine you drink Tom.

 

The key is that the glass should be shaped for the variety of wine you're drinking. They were pretty clear during the 2nd tasting we did (now I have enough glasses to share with guests too!) that the wrong Riedel glass is just as wrong as using the standard wine glass.

[trbarton]

It depends on what wine you drink Tom.

 

The key is that the glass should be shaped for the variety of wine you're drinking. They were pretty clear during the 2nd tasting we did (now I have enough glasses to share with guests too!) that the wrong Riedel glass is just as wrong as using the standard wine glass.

 

Moonlitherial...Thanks for your response. Is purchasing the wine tasting plus the glasses a good deal rather purchasing them on your own? Someone posted that these glasses are very fragile & can break easily. What has been your experience? So you don't take these glasses home with you but get a certificate to order online?

 

Thanks!

 

Tom:)

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

We've done it a couple of times, quite frankly to replenish broken glasses. The glasses really do make a difference in the taste of wine, so we have done it a couple of times to replenish the unfortunately fragile glasses.

[4774Papa]

We befriended the Sommelier on Infinity at Cellar Masters, who told us about the Riedel event. She explained that the wine tastes different in different glasses. There are glasses for Cabernet, Merlot, etc. She gave us a demonstration (no charge) and we agreed, yes the wine does taste different in different glasses. However, we declined to take the Riedel event, since getting those wine glasses home would have been a problem.

[bobnorth]

Unless things have changed since we attended our Reidel tasting, they give you a coupon (for each paying taster) and you call Reidel to get them to ship you the glasses (white and red). There was no taking the glasses off the ship. The glasses came quickly and very well packed.

[bobnorth]

We've done it a couple of times, quite frankly to replenish broken glasses. The glasses really do make a difference in the taste of wine, so we have done it a couple of times to replenish the unfortunately fragile glasses.

 

They say the glasses can be put into the dishwasher. One of the stems broke on the glass. We called Reidel and they replaced the glass. Actually, they sent two glasses as they come in packages of two and four.

[Bo1953]

... after taking the wine glass tasting, you will receive a certificate to redeem on-line for two (2) sets of Riedel Vinum series of glasses. While the glasses are paid for with taking the course, shipping is not. Shipping to NJ was only $20.00 for the set of four (4) and the glasses were well packed.

 

As such, there is no longer any taking them off the ship with you, several people at our tasting in February who were insistent on getting them to take home to save the $20.00, were told that no glasses were aboard for them to do so, several times. And they were mad about it too.... LOL

 

At any rate, it took 12 days before we received them and are very happy. In fact I had ordered more as gifts to friends who we see frequently enough so we can have 'good' wine glasses when visiting! Many of them caught on too....

 

Enjoy the tasting and enjoy the glasses or you can just order the glasses on your own and look at YouTube videos about the glasses.

 

bon voyage

[pbrmom]

Well I guess it really is about the glass. You all have convinced me to take the class. Looking forward to it. Thank you everyone!

[Bo1953]

Well I guess it really is about the glass. You all have convinced me to take the class. Looking forward to it. Thank you everyone!

 

If you want to prep for the class, look up some youtube postings about riedel from amateur wine tasters to see what they think!

 

Then when you take the class you will light up with that Eureka moment... the good thing is, one does not have to be prodigious wine drinker or taster to taste the difference... my spouse who drinks a great deal, did not want to take the class because they thought a wine glass, is a wine glass, is a wine glass... then after the tasting, we had to order more glasses... LOL

 

bon voyage

[extiger]

We have done the tasting twice and found it fascinating both times. In terms of cost I think it is a good deal. Same set at Amazon is $109. The first time we got a slight discount for booking both of us.

 

We did it a second time as we didn't remember the sequence well and wanted to have the tasting for friends.

 

The set contains four different glasses, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. In the tasting there is a fifth glass the joker or standard wine glass. First the wine is tasted in the joker, then in the wrong white or red glass and finally in the correct glass for the type of wine. The difference in taste is truly amazing. White wines are not tasted in the red glasses and visa versa.

 

It has to do with the shape of the bowl and such that impacts where the wine hits the taste buds and how it shapes the nose. The difference in taste is almost magical.

 

We might do it again on our next cruise, but only if we can do the $15pp and not get the glasses.

[gdpups]

I confirm that on our cruise they only gave the certificate for purchase online, (at least in the US) you could not take them with you. In our class they gave us very good instructions on hand to handle and hand wash the glasses, they are very fragile so I can't believe they told you it was OK to put them in the dishwasher.

 

You do the Riedel tasting for the purpose of trying the glasses, not for tasting of specific wines. They actually use very cheap wine so you are able to clearly taste the difference between wine in a regular wine glass vs the Riedel glass. The difference is amazing.

 

The price for the glasses is very good, I was able to purchase a certificate for an additional set of glasses during the class. Enjoy!

[pgoodfel]

We have been Riedel wine glass users for years. We had a friend about 10 years ago invite us to a tasting party in our home town, and we were hooked. Back then I think it was around $60. So the cost for tasting is really not inflated. If I could have my wine in them everywhere in the cruise, the $ would be worth it!

 

 

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[north29]

Wine glass, I guess snobs. There is a difference, and someone with a reasonable pallet can easily tell the difference. A Cheap wine will taste better in a Riedel glass. However the price seems high, I buy my Riedel glass from TJ max LOL, just bought some red wine glasses, for $29 and on Amazon they were about $89.

[pgoodfel]

We have replenished the broken glasses by finding them on sale or a store like TJ Max. Our favorite is the O series because there is no stems and do not break as easily.

 

 

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[rnrcruzin]

Not much to add that the others haven’t posted. I am an amateur wine maker with nearly 400 bottles in my cellar. I can say that there is a big difference in the glass. The take away is the right glass for the wine you drink. You can find the different styles at TJ Max or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I was on an extended business trip and stopped in at a BBB. I found two Cab glasses and two Chardonnay glasses for eight dollars. They were good quality and served me well for the two months I was in place. At eight dollars I didn’t mind leaving them behind. Well I minded but I didn’t want broken glass in my luggage. Go for it and have fun.

[trbarton]

Wine glass, I guess snobs. There is a difference, and someone with a reasonable pallet can easily tell the difference. A Cheap wine will taste better in a Riedel glass. However the price seems high, I buy my Riedel glass from TJ max LOL, just bought some red wine glasses, for $29 and on Amazon they were about $89.

 

I just went onto the TJ Max web site and did a search for Riedel wine glasses & came up with nothing. Anyone have a link to TJ Max for these glasses?

 

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

[kathynorth]

I just went onto the TJ Max web site and did a search for Riedel wine glasses & came up with nothing. Anyone have a link to TJ Max for these glasses?

 

Thanks!

 

Tom😀

 

You can sometimes find Riedel glasswear at COSTCO. I received a set of 8 Vinum cabernet glasses for Christmas.