The Right Glass: A deep dive into Glassware with SPIEGELAU CEO Richard Voit

We taste and test how different glasses change the way wine shows up, from aroma to texture, with SPIEGELAU CEO Richard Voit. We land on a simple, practical setup for real life: buy fewer glasses, buy better, and match the glass to what you actually drink. 

Throughout this episode we try Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (Of Course!) and even Champagne and the results left us shocked.

We've highlighted our favourite glasses from this experience for you!

• SPIEGELAU Definition Burgundy Glass 
• SPIEGELAU Definition Universal Glass 
• SPIEGELAU Lifestyle Burgundy Glass 

And a couple others we loved!

• SPIEGELAU Perfect Serve D.O.F 
• SPIEGELAU Perfect Serve Nick & Nora 

Until the 24th of April Wine with Meg & Mel  listeners have access to 45% off full priced items if you use our code "megmel" at checkout!

Head to - https://www.spiegelau.com/en-au/shop?mtm_campaign=wwmm&mtm_kwd=digital&mtm_source=podcast#sort=bestSeller 

Follow us on instagram @winewithmegandmel

and TikTok! @winewithmegmel

Transcript

Sponsor Deal And Glass Picks

SPEAKER_03 0:04

This episode is brought to you by Speer Clau. Our partnership means that we have an awesome deal for you: 45% off any full price glassware. If you spend over$125, you can get free shipping. They're also going to throw in a polishing cloth, which trust me, you want. Now, this deal is only until the 24th of April at midnight. Meg, what glasses are you gonna be getting?

SPEAKER_04 0:28

Get six of the Definition Burgundy and six of the Definition Universal glasses, and you are set for life. Well, not really life, but until you're ready to purchase other glasses.

Meet SPIEGELAU And Say It Right

SPEAKER_03 0:38

Yeah. And I reckon that if you're a glitchy girl, you might like the lifestyle burgundy. So check those out as well. Thank you so much for being our partner, Spiglau. Head to the website, it's spiglau.com. Hi, and welcome to One with Megan Malbeck here to help you navigate the world of wine. I'm Melga Caristra and by Master of Wine, Meg Brugman, and we are so excited today to be joined by a special guest. We have Richard Voigt. He is the CEO of Spanglau. Spiegelau. We've gone through this a thousand times so many times this morning. Richard, please enlighten us. How do you pronounce it?

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Spiegelau. Very simple. Spiegelau.

SPEAKER_04 1:19

And can you tell us what it means? Because it's a very cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

It's a cool name, yeah. Especially for the non-German. Spiegel is a mirror. So it is the German translation of a mirror. And this small village where Spiegelau is originated is a 500 years ago, was a place where people created glass for different uses, more household. And one of the first usages where people are making glass and they're covered with silver was a Spiegel. So this is why this small village is called Spiegel. And Lau means nothing else than village. That's it.

SPEAKER_04 1:53

Ah, so mirror village.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

It means mirror village. Well that's a great name.

SPEAKER_04 1:57

It doesn't look sound so good on the glasses, though.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

No, it doesn't.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

Now I this is super interesting because I spent all morning, I knew I was gonna stuff it up. I spent all morning going Spiegel, Spiegel, Spiegel, like just trying to get it in my head, right? And then my friend goes, I can help. And she sent me the phonetic pronunciation. And I was saying to Richard, when you look it up, it actually doesn't have the sh, it has the sp. It says you pronounce Spiegel. And there's an interesting reason for that. Can you go into that?

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yeah, this is high German. So um everybody has a little bit, I would say it's sort of dialect, but it's in high German, you would say Spiegelau.

SPEAKER_05 2:35

Oh wow. Spiegel.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

But this is this is, I mean, this is really so high German that you don't use it. Spiegelau is completely correct.

SPEAKER_04 2:44

I think it's to do with Bavaria and the Oktoberfest, and they're all getting a bit slurry and saying Spiegel.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

I just really want And we are Bavarians.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful part of the world. I just want one day to say Spiegel and to have someone correct me and I'll be like, no, no, no, no. I'm speaking high German.

SPEAKER_04 3:01

I'm high German, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

You do it very well. And you can do it both ways, doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.

Design, Hospitality And Factory Reality

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Well, look, we're stoked to have you here, especially because you have just come off a really long flight. So we overnight. We really appreciate having you to talk about glassware with us. But firstly, can you go into a little bit about what glassware means to you? What's your background?

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Dealing with glasses and dealing with glassware is more than just first of all, it's it's a consumer good. So it's a product which needs newness and where you constantly work on innovation, otherwise, it gets boring.

SPEAKER_05 3:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

So it is it has to do with design. And our combination, especially with Spiegelau, where we where we have 60% of our businesses going to hospitality, so it's going to professionals. You you work with this these users. You work with restaurants, you work with hotels, which is for me complete lifestyle. Yeah. So we have a beautiful combination of a design, product development, the lifestyle which you experience being in these restaurants, using your glasses with chefs, with winemakers, and then the industrial parts of the factories. It's an unusual combination.

SPEAKER_04 4:14

It's a little bit like winemaking, I think, in that winemaking is quite an industrial process, but you end there's a bit of art involved in it, and you end up with a beautiful product at the end. And just looking at these, they are art forms as well.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

Yeah, it's also the intersection of art and design.

SPEAKER_04 4:30

It's just, you know, you just look at them and you think they are when I was unwrapping them. I had my son next to me and he's saying, Oh my god, that's so beautiful. And it's oh, that's gorgeous. I want that one, that's beautiful. And yeah, you know, we've got 10 different types of glasses here, and then we unpacked these ones and we all went, they're beautiful.

From Forest Glassmakers To Machines

SPEAKER_03 4:48

And we're gonna fight over those. Looking into Schweiglau, its origins go back to 1521.

SPEAKER_05 4:55

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

That is so long ago. Can you please tell us about like the evolution of the business, what glassware even looked like back then, and and how has it turned into what it is today?

SPEAKER_00 5:06

So the origin was it started in Bavaria and it started what we call the Bavarian forest or bohemian forest, which is still one of the biggest, or if not the biggest, forest in Europe. And it started in a forest because the people needed the wood to fire and to melt the raw materials, mainly sand, to create glass. So this is how this all started, and this is why even our main competitor has a similar location because they moved around. For the wood they went for the wood in the center of the forest, they they started to to make a fire, melt the raw materials, and when the wood in a kind of circumstance of five kilometers was cut down, they had to move the whole thing a little bit to a different place. They needed new wood. And what they produced at that time was not decorative, it was more for using the things.

SPEAKER_06 6:00

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Became a little bit more decorative where we did these um tobacco bottles. So the sniff, you're snuff. Snuff, and you had this these small glass bottles where the snuff was. This is when we started to get a little bit more decorative. Oh wow long ago. And it was all handmade. So for I would say 400 years, glass making in this area, and especially with us, was handmade glass. So it was, as you said, it's a it's a completely handcrafted product. And when you're asking me how do we become what we are now, it came with the industrialization. So it came when the former owners they started to manufacture the glass a little bit more industrialized, and this is what we are still doing, this is where we are proud about it. So this is a good example. This is a glass which is fully machine made. So it's a it's a fully automized process, but we copy all the techniques which are 500 years old. So you copy by machine exactly the technique, how you blow, how you pull a stem, how you fix a foot, what how it was done if you do it by hand. Wow and you try to be as close as possible to a handmade glass.

Super Light Stems And What Matters

SPEAKER_03 7:18

That would trick anyone. It's so fine. Just looking at the stem. So fine.

SPEAKER_04 7:24

I've noticed there's a difference in thickness amongst the various glasses that we've had. What's that for? Is it just because of that feeling of finesse in the holding?

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Because that is just this is I would say this is the latest development which which Pigelow actually initiated with this glass. We call it super light.

SPEAKER_04 7:43

That's just beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

So this is something what was five years ago not possible on a machine. It took us two years to develop it.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

So we we we we triggered our machines to be as thin here, to be as light. Wow. Because the outcome is the finesse. You feel it immediately, you feel the lightness, you feel the balance. And especially if you fill the glass, you have a kind of a luxurious feeling. And this is what we wanted to trigger. We wanted to to have a it's it's more it's a feeling. It doesn't change how the wine tastes, it's just how you feel your your experience. That's the point.

SPEAKER_04 8:21

With this one, I almost felt like this would fall over.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:24

I mean, that's an optical illusion because it looks bigger. But is stem height important?

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Or the aesthetic.

SPEAKER_04 8:33

Right. Just because not for the these would fit in my dishwasher, but I I have some glasses where the stems are significantly larger and they just don't fit in my dishwasher. And agreed. And so I never use them.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Agreed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:47

And all my kids break them.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

And the height of the stem doesn't change your wine drinking experience. It's just an aesthetic. It's just how it looks like.

SPEAKER_04 8:59

And does it change how the glass feels, though, in your hand?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Sure, it should. It feels it feels difficult to handle and less balanced because you normally want to swill. Yep. And if the stem is longer, you have it, it's it's getting top heavy. So it's unbalanced.

SPEAKER_04 9:15

I noticed on Drops of God, I don't know if you've been watching that show. Do you watch it?

SPEAKER_00 9:19

No, I heard about it.

SPEAKER_03 9:21

Wait, so for so for people listening, we have discussed it before, but it's on Apple and it's it's almost fantasy world, but it's about um sommely is kind of battling. That's what you need to know.

SPEAKER_04 9:32

But they had this that rich woman that knows all about wine, and she's sitting there holding a glass like this swirling, and I'm like, no rich woman who knew their wine would do that. Yes. So I had a bit of a scoff the other day. Sorry.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Well, no, there's a lot that you could scoff at for that show, trivial.

SPEAKER_04 9:50

True.

SPEAKER_03 9:50

So if if the stem isn't contributing, uh, what is it about the wine? And is it actually changing how we taste or smell the wine? Is it changing the taste of the wine or is it only changing the delivery? The glassware.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

It is changing how you perceive the wine.

SPEAKER_03 10:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

So the glassware cannot change how the wine smells. But the glassware will change how you experience the aroma. The glass cannot change the taste of the wine, but it can, as you said, the delivery to a certain degree. So it can it can influence and improve what is important in a wine. So you get with the right glassware, you have, if it's well done, you enjoy a better experience from what you drink. The glass cannot change the wine. The wine is a wine. A bad wine is a bad wine. And a very good wine, but a very good wine in the right glassware makes a lot of sense. A very good wine in the wrong glassware is a waste of money.

SPEAKER_04 10:56

Tell that to my husband.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

I'm happy to.

SPEAKER_04 11:01

He uses the tiny little XL5 glasses. No, well, we have all the glasses under the sun because I am obsessed with glassware. And yeah, he just uses these really cheap glasses. And we've shown him, haven't we? We have demonstrated the difference. And he is a winemaker. I know. And his wines are actually quite good. They could be better if we had him in the right glasses.

SPEAKER_03 11:24

I I actually went to a hen's weekend and they knew that I was coming, uh, like a bachelorette weekend, and they knew I was coming, and they were worried that the Airbnb was going to have bad glassware, which they did. And so they organized for a different set of glassware to be an Airbnb for me.

SPEAKER_04 11:45

I take my glasses with me when I go away.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

You are not the only one.

How Many Glasses Do You Need

SPEAKER_04 11:52

Just sort of a universal, because you know what those Airbnbs and a lemon. That's like drinking out of a coffee cup. So, yeah, just take a glass each and all good.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

Well, I wanted to tell you a little bit about our listeners because I was interested. Uh so this morning I asked them on Instagram, did a bit of a poll. I said, How many different sets of wine glasses do you own? So we started with one, two, three, four, or five plus. Five plus got 50% of the responses. So I went deeper and said, Okay, if you answered five plus, is it five, six, seven, or eight? Sixty percent have at least eight different sets of wine glasses at the house of our listeners.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Wow. Okay, then then you have a lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 12:41

We have a lot of trades, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:43

We do we do have well, wine people, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

That's what I wanted to say. Your listeners are wine people.

SPEAKER_04 12:49

Yes, they're good people.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Which is we would laugh that this is normal.

SPEAKER_04 12:54

They still need more though.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

They need more, but this would make my business much more easier if if if I all I like your wine.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

Yeah. I I asked them what what is the most important wine glass to have outside of your standard one?

SPEAKER_00 13:09

No, I'm getting interested.

SPEAKER_03 13:10

Almost everyone said they have burgundy. So outside of their normal ones, burgundy, and then after that, Riesling and Bordeaux. But I agree, burgundy is always the nicest looking ones, the nicest one to drink out of. Could burgundy serve as an everything glass?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Actually, a lot of people considering a burgundy glass a red wine glass. Because it looks nice, it looks big, and people consider a big glass is for sure a red wine glass.

SPEAKER_05 13:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Um, no, I'm not a big fan of this. I'm not I'm not a big fan of this universal thing. Okay, but I totally agree. It is important that you have a burgundy glass, especially in Australia, with your beautiful Pinot Glass.

SPEAKER_04 13:50

And you're investing money when you drink Pinot, whether it's from Burgundy, but even from Australia, you're not getting out under 45 Australian dollars. So make it the best experience that you possibly can.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

Yeah, I agree. A burgundy, especially. A Pinot Noir needs a different glass. It is, it is a wine with out of the wrong glass, you get this greenishness, you get you don't get the fruit. So a Pinot Noir certainly needs a glass which is made for Pinot Noir.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

Okay, that's a nice avenue. Is are there any other glasses that if you said absolutely, if you're gonna get a specific varietal apart from Pinot, what else would you say?

SPEAKER_00 14:28

I would keep it to Pinot.

SPEAKER_03 14:29

Yeah, Pinot's the main one that definitely is.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

I would say because then then you go then you go into this category of wine glasses where for every grape variety you need a different glass, which is not the Spiegel Avenue. No, no, we don't we don't we don't think like this. As I said, a lot of our customers are professionals. Yep. So we we try to have more of this restaurant approach where where we think how many different glasses you really need in a restaurant to make a proper service, and where you can still guarantee that your people working in the restaurant know which glass to bring.

SPEAKER_06 15:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

So we try to keep it relatively simple. We are not in favor of the universal, but we know that this is a trend that the Miseau Plus, one glass, that's that's not unusual. But we think you need a Pinot glass. Yeah, you need at least a decent wine white glass where you can drink a lot of things out of it. Could be champagne, could be white wine, can be any kind of yeah, Riesling, it can be Graubegunde, can be all of these trendy wines, white wines would work in one glass for sure. And also Ashwiras can work in this. So if it's not this unusual grape of burgundy, and if it is not a very, very heavy cabanisau, you can have a lot of things out of one glass. Is it the best experience? Not, but it's a good compromise.

SPEAKER_04 15:57

And what about sparkling wine?

SPEAKER_02 15:59

That's where I wanted to go.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

We always want to go there. Sparkling wine's my preference is a bigger glass. My sparkling my my for me, sparkling wines is more a wine and not something where you toast. I prefer sparkling wines with food. And this is how I would suggest to drink sparkling wine out of a wine glass, not out of a flute. In an ideal world, you have now these sparkling wine glasses which are more open, which are bigger.

SPEAKER_04 16:29

Yeah, we've got those.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

I would say out of this, sparkling wine is perfect. You experience more the wine part and not this toasting flute.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Why? This is uh doesn't feel like having a discussion with the C normally CEOs are very profit-minded, and you just told us to buy less glassware, and we own like this is crazy.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Uh profit profit-minded is one thing, and the other thing is I have to be realistic. And it and I'm talking I'm talking about Spiegelau. Yeah. I'm not talking about brands who have a different approach. Our approach is we are more for the simplification.

SPEAKER_03 17:03

You're for the people.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

We look for a different customer. I'm I'm not looking for the customer who is only into high-end wines. I'm looking for a customer who is making his journey into the wine world where I can't expect that he is investing right away in a lot of glasses.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

And we think having having two or three beautiful Spiegelau glasses, you can make it with it. You don't need a lot of.

SPEAKER_04 17:28

I agree. Do you do a sparkling wine glass though?

SPEAKER_00 17:31

We do sparkling wine glasses. No doubt. Yeah. In in a in the restaurant world, people want to see a sparkling wine glass for a reason. But I can I I would say if you drink it with food, as you would drink a wine with food, I would took a wine glass.

SPEAKER_04 17:45

Okay. And what food would you is your favorite pairing with?

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Sorry, I love food, so if it is not game with everything. So um You two are gonna get along. I think you can I I I think champagne or sparkling wine is is a is a perfect companion for for food.

SPEAKER_04 18:07

Well, just so everyone knows, and you what probably won't get this reference, it was my birthday this week, and my birthday we always celebrate with champagne and potato cakes. So it's a fried disc of potato, and I think that is the perfect food pairing look. And I look forward to it.

Quality Checks: Rim And Balance

SPEAKER_03 18:26

We are on the same beach. So, if someone is out there starting their journey into glassware, can you please give a few pointers of what to look for? What are some signs of high quality glassware?

SPEAKER_00 18:39

I think it starts with the rim, where this is for for us as a glassmaker's the most delicate part of the glass because the rim is where it touches your lips, a very sensitive part of the glass, your first touch point. And unfortunately, here you can save a lot of money in glass making or you can spend money. You can make this called a kind of a rolled rim.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Which means nothing else. You speed up the process, you use fire to instead of polishing the rim and cutting the limb and make it very thin and nice, like we try. You use fire, you polish it with fire, you make it round and you speed up the process. And in an industrial process, time is money. But then you have unfortunately something on your lips which is not delicate. So you should look on the rim. The rim should be thin, the rim should be cut, smooth, but thin, nothing in your way, like we do it, like a professional high-end glassware should look like.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

Yeah. So so you say you need fire. Do you use it?

SPEAKER_00 19:43

We we don't. We we need a little bit, but but if you do it very cheap, because you have to cut it here, you have a bubble here, you have to cut it, and then it is sharp, and then you can use fire. You just put a lot of fire on it and you make it round, or you polish it nicely, you grind it and you make it like this.

SPEAKER_04 20:02

Beautiful. Wow, and how many breakages do you get during the glass making process? I mean, they they're he is a CEO, so hang on. There it is. It had to be in there somewhere. Um because they are so fine.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

Uh yeah, this is this is the second thing is the more fine, the more delicate in production. So this is no doubt, which makes it also a little bit more expensive.

SPEAKER_04 20:27

So you can't totally justified though, because they're hand finishing these glasses, and you know, the amount of packaging these came in, but even carrying them here today, I was just paranoid I was going to drop the box, even though they were very well packaged, because they are just so delicate. I'm with you. When I open my glass drawer, because I often there's a mix of glasses in there, I'll feel you can feel it.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

I think here you can feel the quality.

SPEAKER_04 20:51

Yeah, and the second thing is finer.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

And the second thing is I think a glass must be balanced because this is most important because you you want to touch it, you play with it. Yeah, this is also the next very sensitive point. You play a lot of people, roll it in your fingers.

SPEAKER_05 21:07

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

You don't want to feel any sign of mechanic production, if possible, and you want to have a balanced glass, not a top-heavy glass, because if it is top heavy, already empty. It's completely top heavy with the beverage, with the wine in it. And the more balanced the glass is, the more safer, the more easier you you can handle it.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

I had never considered how important that is, but when you say it, uh that feeling of balance in your hand, especially if you're holding it with just a couple of fingers by the rim, makes a huge difference.

SPEAKER_04 21:42

It makes a huge difference. Oh, yeah, definitely. And that's why I said before it when you look at the burgundy glass, it looks like it will be heavy, but when you pick it up, and that's obviously to do with stem and balance and the plate.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

And this is where we are proud about it. I would say this is the art of glass making, no doubt. And I would say We are at the moment leading this game with these glasses, and this is why I'm emphasizing it. This is where we feel that this is important for the user, for the consumer, because it's not just that the beverage is good, the wine is good. You can improve with the whole touch and feel the experience.

SPEAKER_04 22:19

And I'm gonna say, I might sound like a bit of a wanker here, but there is very think about it. We use sight, smell, and taste, three of our senses for when we're doing wine tasting. We don't actually use touch, but if you bring the glass into it, you're bringing into that whole sensual in the term sense experience. And I mean it is it is sensual to like to pick up the glasses, like it feels balanced and I sound like a wank. I don't I know we're not gonna be.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

It's like Meg watching heated rivalry in these glasses.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Sensoric.

SPEAKER_04 22:59

Sensorial, yes, sensorial.

SPEAKER_03 23:01

But yeah, no, I no, I totally understand what you're saying, and I really like the idea actually that that you're bringing in another sense into the tasting experience. And so to recap, if people are going and thinking about buying glassware, the two of the most important things to think about is to look at that room at the top, but also to actually pick it up and touch it and and don't see how it feels in your hand like a like a good knife when you're buying knives.

Cocktails, Tumblers And Glitzy Ridges

SPEAKER_04 23:24

Yeah, you could compare it. Yeah, oh my gosh, like a knife. That is such a good point. He's just come from Tokyo, great place to buy knives. But I was just thinking how beautiful as a set they would be on anyone's table. I don't really think you need more, but I do have a question. We've got a whole heap of others.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 23:42

What are they all about?

SPEAKER_00 23:43

What are they all about? Okay, you can start with an easy thing.

SPEAKER_04 23:46

Okay. Whiskey?

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Whiskey. It's part of a collection which we which we call Perfect Surf. We developed this 10 or 11 years ago in a collaboration with a German, very famous and successful bartender. And because this is nowadays important, the art of cocktail making, this mixology is a big topic, and we wanted to create. We have six, seven different glasses. So this is the same, the same line. That's a Nicodora. That's a very American thing. And Niconora is a very American thing. Um, it's an American cocktail thing. You drink special cocktails out of it, out of this Nicod Nora glass. For Europeans, I guess also for Australians to see.

SPEAKER_04 24:32

Is it a gimlet? Is the gimless?

SPEAKER_00 24:34

You can you can perfectly gimmicks.

SPEAKER_04 24:36

It's a gimlet at gimlet, I think, is that glass is that glass.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

It comes out of this.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

We've got a very nice cocktail bar in Melbourne called Nick and Nora. Oh, no, you know what it means? No. Really? Okay. Yeah, yeah, you'll have to check it out tonight. You've got one night. So this is for mixology. I have a question. How come this whiskey glass is so heavy? And the the weight feels luxurious to me. Like it feels like a mark of quality, but it seems like it juxtaposes the idea that a wine glass feels quality. Yeah, so why?

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Perceived value, as you said. I I think uh a tumbler, a tumbler with a certain value gives you this feeling of crystal. Yeah, this this a little bit old-fashioned feeling of crystal, and these kind of drinks which you drink out of a tumbler like this are perfectly in this more heavy tumbler, which is exactly the opposite of a wine glass. Yeah, exactly the opposite. This is why you need different glasses. And if you look at this, this is also a tumbler, but it's it's a very light blown tumbler because it is more a wine tumbler. So here's the idea is yeah, like a stemless glass. It's like a stemless glass to be more casual, so you have no stem, you need less space, but it is still a wine glass shape, and this is why it is light blown. Whereas a cocktail whiskey glass over there has a different purpose, and this way you have different feeling, and this is what you said before. The touch and feel is very important.

SPEAKER_04 26:04

Then what's this one? Alright, yeah, tell us about it.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

Is that a coupe for sparkling? It's a it's a coupe for a margarita or a mark.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

I had this discussion yesterday in Tokyo also. Is sparkling wine now served in coupes like this?

SPEAKER_04 26:18

Oh, all the trendy dudes are doing it.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

It's back. It's a coupette. We name it coupette.

SPEAKER_04 26:24

Oh, cute, like a covet.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Yeah, we name it coupette, and it is, it could be a martini glass for any kind of clear, for any kind of this is original intention, but no doubt. This is super trendy now for sparkling wines.

SPEAKER_04 26:39

And why the ridging on the glass? Aesthetic. Aesthetic.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

It has no functionality. I would lie if there is this is an aesthetic. This is a little bit of it's beautiful. It's it's it really adds a little bit of glamour, yeah, sexiness.

SPEAKER_04 26:52

Then what about the wine-shaped glass with the the ridges on it?

SPEAKER_00 26:56

Same thing. It's an aesthetic.

SPEAKER_04 26:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

So it is not that there's a functionality behind it. It adds, especially when you turn it, it it emphasizes the crystal. It had you have more, you have more like a light reflection.

SPEAKER_04 27:09

It's beautiful, it's a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 27:10

And it starts to it starts to reflect. That's that's the idea here.

SPEAKER_04 27:13

And what would you serve in that shape glass?

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:17

Is this um yeah?

SPEAKER_00 27:18

In a in a different level. So this is if if this is our top level by execution and by feeling, this is I would say a mid-level. It's a little bit more heavy, has a little bit more thicker stem, it's not as big.

SPEAKER_03 27:31

I actually feel like this would be a good everyday glass.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

This this comes this comes much closer to a universal, yeah. And it's a summer drink glass, so it's all these wine cocktails with ice in it, so these spritz upper roll, this thing's perfect out of this.

SPEAKER_04 27:48

Oh, you get us. It's a bit small for my Aperol. I'd be going for the bigger one. Okay, thanks. I don't want to have to go back and make another one. I might as well just all right.

Riesling And Chardonnay Glass Test

SPEAKER_03 28:00

Well, the next thing we want to do is test these two glasses. So we've all got in front of this one burgundy glass and one glass which is a universal wine glass.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

It's a universal wine glass, white wine glass.

SPEAKER_03 28:12

What's it called?

SPEAKER_00 28:13

Is it called every we call it universal? Universal.

SPEAKER_04 28:16

Yeah. Okay. So I I just actually want to ask you in one of the glasses, can you pull to the level that you think? Can you tell Austin when to stop when you think would be the right to stop?

SPEAKER_00 28:26

For me, totally fine. In a restaurant, difficult. If you sell a glass of wine as wine buys a glass, people would not accept this serving. So it would so at home. I would I would really try not to fill the glass too much. There's no need. The bottle is not not far away.

SPEAKER_04 28:42

So what we have here is a Vinock. What year is that, Austin? When you get a chance?

SPEAKER_00 28:47

2024.

SPEAKER_04 28:48

It smells like it's got a little bit of petrol character in it. So German Rheingel Riesling.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Yeah. Like a typical German Riesling, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:56

And something like a GG one?

SPEAKER_00 28:59

GG Broom, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's a high end, okay.

SPEAKER_04 29:02

Would that be okay?

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Absolutely. No, no. This is a I think this this is a typical glass which which shows up a little bit of some minerality, which shows this what you want to get.

SPEAKER_04 29:11

So I've got my um oh no, I can't say it because she listens. But I will tell you, when I did my Master of Wine, my first day that I did it, I turned up and I didn't have any glasses.

SPEAKER_06 29:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:27

And so where we were staying gave me, you know, like those pub glass thick glasses to taste the wine, and all the other MW students are looking at me like I'm like the poor cousin. And I was doing it in England, so I was Australian in England. And at the end of it, this beautiful Swedish man came up to me on dress and he handed me 12 Spiegelauer glasses, and he said, These are for you. And I said, Oh no, like I have got glasses. I just I'd just been in France, I got off a ferry and I drove up here, and he said, No, no, and they got me all through my entire MW.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

I love it.

SPEAKER_04 29:58

So I he gave they came in, like he had a special box and everything that I think he'd had made, and it was all foam, and it was just a gorgeous gift. He never got his MW, but they got me through, and my flatmate was always, oh, can we just use them to drink? I'm like, no, like they sat in my bedroom and it was a big box.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

It's a gift.

unknown 30:19

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:19

They really are. Oh, they just feel so lovely. So nice to drink out of. And that from the thin stem and the thinness of the rim, yeah, it really is beautiful. Now, is there something about the fact that this is Riesling that's making it particularly good, or do you think that when we have Chardonnay in this as well, we'll equally enjoy it?

SPEAKER_00 30:40

I I would say Chardonnay will also work very well in it. It's not perfectly made for a Chardonnay. This is where where I said it. But it especially if it is not a super buttery, oaky Chardonnay, a more steel tank Chardonnay, perfect in this glass, not a problem. The more heavy, the more full flavor, the less you will get out of it. It's not that you have a bad experience, you just will miss something.

SPEAKER_03 31:08

Now, other wine glasses that are like the the cheaper style, more likely to find in your Airbnb, they tend to have a rounder bowl. Whereas I'm noticing that this is slightly round, but it's actually square. Is there a reason for that?

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Aesthetic.

SPEAKER_03 31:27

Aesthetic. So it's I have to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

Yeah, so the important part for the wine is the white is the witness of the glass. So the more the more you need the more space the wine has in the glass, the better and the faster is the aeration. So the the better you get air, oxygen into the glass, and it opens up the wine. This part of here, this this very, I would say, diamond shape here. This is not so much for the functionality, this is more the aesthetic. So though the part which is influencing the wine experience is more the witness here, the rim diameter here. This in between is more an aesthetic. This is actually just a super modern. In the past, you had always glasses like an egg shape. We name them egg shape. This traditional wine glass shape, what you said the rounded egg shape is a very functional shape, no doubt. Yeah. This, what we call a more diamond shape, is just the most trendy at the moment for your aesthetic feeling.

SPEAKER_05 32:28

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

And and and then you still need some experience how to still make it functional and not just good looking.

SPEAKER_04 32:37

Because it would you're gonna just have more air in contact with the wine, and then because it does come in, it's gonna trap.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 32:45

So when you give it a swirl, you've got more oxygen, but you're sort of condensing the the aromas into it.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Condensing the aromas into it, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 32:52

Yeah, they're beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 32:53

Okay, well, oh my god, I'm like in love. Um Do you want to try the Chardonnay? I reckon we tried the Chardonnay in both.

SPEAKER_04 33:00

So we're trying a 2022 10 minutes by tractor, one of our Oh, we'll we love 10 minutes by tractor.

SPEAKER_00 33:07

So this is 10 minutes by tractor is the name. Yes, yes, not how you get there. So I don't that's the way I was asking.

SPEAKER_04 33:14

It's in it's in Mornington. It's a sort of maritime climate, but they have beautiful collar. I think the winery is 10 minutes by tractor or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 33:22

No, it takes 10 minutes by tractor to get from one end of the vineyard to the other. That's their whole site, yes.

SPEAKER_04 33:29

And they pick on different sides of their hill, and Martin's a very considered winemaker.

SPEAKER_03 33:35

Yeah, this was this would be one of the more famous Chardonnays from the Mornington region in Victoria. So it's a really nice Chardonnay to test out these glasses in.

SPEAKER_00 33:46

I sure it is very obvious.

SPEAKER_03 33:48

It's so hard to go past a burgundy class, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 33:52

It's really very obvious. Yeah, that's most probably one of the easiest things to understand the difference in the world.

SPEAKER_01 33:58

It is. It is wow. Oh my gosh. I love this.

SPEAKER_00 34:01

So whatever the glass, whatever the winemaker put into this wine, you get out of this glass. Exactly. Here you get what he wants you to.

SPEAKER_04 34:09

You get exactly what you're paying for. So if you're spending 45, well, this is probably about$65 on a bottle of wine, yeah, you want to be getting every bit out of it rather than losing stuff. So you're better off in buying an enjoyment glass and sit down and take the time to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

As you said before, I like what you said. It's about three, I would say four senses to really enjoy the full portfolio of the wine. It's a significant. It's a significant difference.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Make it this better for the podcast. So to recap. We don't capture data on Instagram. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 34:49

Whatever.

SPEAKER_03 34:50

Um, this is why we have Austin. Yay. So to recap, we both all of us straight away smelt this wine without even tasting it, just the burgundy, it just it it jumped out. It was beautiful, it really leapt out of the glass in this burgundy glass. It it was still really nice out of this universal glass, but it it just doesn't have the same impact, does it?

SPEAKER_00 35:14

And this is what I wanted to say. So the universal glass works. Yes. So it is not that we didn't put an effort behind it, we try to make it universal, so we try to have a compromise, but it is a different experience. So it is not that the wine is bad out of this, it is a good wine, so it it works very well, also in this glass. But the finesse, and especially what I think what the winemaker wants you to experience, you need a bigger glass for it.

SPEAKER_04 35:37

And I think a lot of it, so for me, the Riesling in that glass was absolutely perfect. Like that's gonna become my new Riesling glass. Yeah, and when I drink Riesling, unless I'm going to Germany where we are site-specific, I don't think about site and vineyard as much as when I drink Chardonnay. Chardonnay, I'm more invested in where it's actually what vineyard it's from. Like I couldn't tell you where Jim Barry's Clear Valley Riesling comes from.

SPEAKER_03 36:05

But that's just weird reasoning, because Riesling is more an indication of its site, where its Chardonnay has a lot of winemaking tools.

SPEAKER_04 36:14

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Maybe in Australia we haven't delineated enough sites, and we're not promoting enough sites as we are Chardonnay.

SPEAKER_03 36:24

I want to try this one. Because I just love the aesthetic of this, and to be perfectly honest, I can see a lot of things.

SPEAKER_04 36:30

You just like the miracle glitz about that one.

SPEAKER_03 36:33

It's glitchy.

SPEAKER_04 36:34

It's kitsy. It's kitsy.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

I'm a fancy kind of glitzy gal. But I can see a lot of my friends who who are more like they love wine, but they're not quite as geeky as I am. They would love this. Like this.

SPEAKER_05 36:47

It's a super successful glass.

SPEAKER_03 36:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:49

And like you said, it can do Aperol spritz through to Riesling Semillon Chardonnay. You know, it's a really multifunctional glass.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

It's a multifunctional glass. It's I would say it's an everyday glass. It's an easy-going glass.

Pinot Noir Proof And Building A Set

SPEAKER_03 37:03

We're now talking about this one with the ridges in it.

SPEAKER_04 37:06

She's so being mesmerized by the miracle. So this is the one with the ridges, and it looks a bit more and it's a bit more, it's wider at the It's wider.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

So this is a this is a good example for a glass, which you can nearly drink everything out of it.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

And the and the ridges makes it a little bit more as it's glissy. It's a night word.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

It's a it's a vibe.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

It's all about the glamour.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Glamour, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:34

Yeah. Okay. So do you think there's anything else that's worth testing? We have a Shiraz and we'll try the Pinot.

SPEAKER_04 37:41

The Pinot.

SPEAKER_03 37:42

Let's take the Pinot for a second.

SPEAKER_04 37:43

So we have a 2024 Santelin, which is Yarrow Valley. In transparency, Adrian's a mate of mine, but the Gladysdale. So this is from the Willow Lake Vineyard, which is considered to be the best vineyard in the Yarrow Valley.

SPEAKER_06 37:56

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 37:56

Um, so it's off sort of deep red volcanic soils, cooler climate.

SPEAKER_00 38:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:02

And Adrian's a very gentle winemaker. He's he's a very much uh I'm a big fan of Pinot.

SPEAKER_00 38:07

I'm a big fan of Australian Pinot. I think it's the most complicated grape, but for me it's it's a wine which you said about you said food pairing before. For me, Pinot Noir is a wine which you can nearly pair with everything.

SPEAKER_04 38:20

I pair everything with pork because I just love pork. Riesling, peinot, cabernet, chierez. Do you think that's setty and porky? Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 38:30

Patty and porky.

SPEAKER_03 38:32

Do you think that because Pinot Noir presents quite differently in the new world versus say burgundy, is should they still work in the same glass?

SPEAKER_00 38:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Yeah. I think yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think that what we just said, it's about a cooler climate, it's a lighter wine, it's a it's a more fruitiness. It should work as the same glass, whether it's old world or new world.

SPEAKER_04 38:54

Interesting. The bunchiness, I think this has got some whole bunch in it, is much more evident in the first glass. Whereas the perfume, which for me is very much that willow-like character, is much more evident in the second burgundy glass.

SPEAKER_00 39:11

It's a different character on the nose.

SPEAKER_04 39:12

It's a different wine.

SPEAKER_03 39:13

It is, it's more different, it's more perfumed.

SPEAKER_00 39:15

It is a different wine.

SPEAKER_03 39:16

Yeah, this is amazing.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Glasses make a difference. This is how this is how you you said a nice word. Um the the glass is is somehow a tool. It can be very complicated if you want. So if you you can be, you can you you can have a tool for every specific small thing, or you have a universal tool. It's about the delivery of the wine. The glass is not changing the wine, the the way the glass delivers the wine to your senses might change your perception.

SPEAKER_03 39:45

Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

That is beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 39:47

That's fantastic. I jeez, that's a good paint.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

I think it's nice to play with or I think this is what people should do at home. You you should just experience. And you this this is.

SPEAKER_04 39:56

I agree. And I would recommend people go out and buy the universal glass for you every day, Reasing, your Sam's, your fianos, whatever. But if you are investing in a Pinot, and I would even argue Chardonnay from just tasting that Chardonnay before, and or a Syrah, maybe, but it could take invest in, even if it's only two.

SPEAKER_06 40:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:15

You know, so that you can uh try it, have six of your everyday and then two, so you can see the difference and get the the most out of the bottle of wine that you're actually. I I totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 40:26

You should have at least two glasses. This is the discussion about this universal thing. I understand the simplicity, I understand that people don't want the complication, but if you're a little bit into wine, you should have at least two glasses. Yep, I agree. Then you get the difference of the wines.

unknown 40:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

I think maybe I suspect there's other people out here who have done this like me, is that you've got your, you know, wine glasses, and then you start getting into wine. And the thing that's alluring at the start is the varietal specific. And so you end up with the like sharding glass, and I ended up with sharding glasses.

SPEAKER_04 41:00

And I don't even drink viagne.

SPEAKER_03 41:02

You wake up with all those varietal-specific glasses, and it's only just occurred to me, I don't have good quality universal glasses. All my good quality glasses are varietal specific, and I still use a generic, not a great one for my universal for something that doesn't fit into the specific varietal category. And that is where I'm looking at this going, this is exactly what I need. And what do you drink most of, Mel, in terms of red? In terms of red, do you know what? At the moment, I'm drinking Italian, and I don't have any like Nebbiolo glass. I've I've only got How can that'd work for Neb though? Yeah, do you think that yeah, would you use Burgundy? So you'd use burgundy for Neb. But yeah, no, I've my specific, my varietal specific glasses at home, a Pinot Noir like a Burgundy, and a Shiraz or cab maybe. But at the moment I'm really into Sendro Vese, Temproneo, and out of this. So that's exactly what I was thinking.

SPEAKER_00 42:02

These kind of wines all the way. Absolutely, absolutely. Because they I would say even they these kind of wines need a smaller glass and not a super big glass.

SPEAKER_04 42:16

Okay. I I would uh say Juvesi, yes, Nebbiolo, I think.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

Nebbiolo, no. Tempranillo, yes.

SPEAKER_04 42:21

Yes, yeah. And can I just ask the you've got another two glasses here that we didn't talk about? What are they?

SPEAKER_00 42:28

They are, first of all, a different design language. Yeah. So here we are talking about temporary, there's a contemporary, yeah, modern and fine. So here it's our top level, that's the finesse of the glass. Yeah. Here we are talking also in a different shape. This is what what I said before, this egg shape.

SPEAKER_04 42:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

So it is a functional shape. It is a shape which was for the last 50 years the wine glass shape. Not everybody is looking into contemporary designs. Not every household is black and white and purest.

SPEAKER_04 42:59

Mine's a mess, but I still think I want those glasses in my household.

SPEAKER_00 43:03

This kind of shape here is certainly the more updated shape at the moment.

SPEAKER_03 43:08

Which one do you think is like in terms of wanting something to be quite versatile, which one fits the brief the most in terms of versatility?

SPEAKER_00 43:18

Versatility.

SPEAKER_03 43:19

Yes. A universal glass, or or is it these ones you've got here, or is no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

For me, it's it's really a complicated question because because I think a universal glass is a perfect tool.

SPEAKER_03 43:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

But as I said before, you need two glasses. It would be too easy. I think it it it is not the right approach. If you want to experience wine and if you spend some money for wine, you should have at least two glasses because otherwise you will miss always something.

SPEAKER_04 43:54

But in terms of cost, so say they're one sixty a pair, that's eighty dollars a glass, right? That's two bottles of wine. This is what I what we always say.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

If you compare you you drink it and and okay, you drink it in two hours and you're gone. The glasses will last for years if they don't break. Sure, a glass can break. All these glasses can go to the dishwasher. All of these glasses can go to the dishwasher. This is what we always want, which we want to be, and it's fine.

SPEAKER_03 44:21

I reckon if I were to put a percentage on it, it'd enhance my drinking experience by 40 to 50%. So if you've got a$40 bottle of wine, just like that the ROI.

SPEAKER_04 44:34

I just think it turns the every day into an occasion if you actually have a decent glass. Like this is what my, you know, with my husband drinking out of these thimbles, it's like, well, what you use is a word.

SPEAKER_01 44:45

Those glasses your husband. Well, where is the enjoyment? You do your you know.

SPEAKER_00 44:50

I agree. Yeah. And I don't even know what is the advantage. Is it more durable? Is it easier to handle? I don't think so. No.

SPEAKER_04 44:56

He just bought extra ones when he was in Germany or something.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

Yeah, okay. He likes it.

SPEAKER_03 45:02

But it can carry around in a pouch. It's just a so but from a technical winemaker perspective, I get that you're you've got an even playing field. If you're using this silly little carpet for every single wine, then there's no variable.

SPEAKER_04 45:15

If he's tasting and blending at work, as a tasting glass, I totally agree. But not at home.

SPEAKER_00 45:21

But not for experiencing. For tasting, you're totally right. You want to have a you want to have no difference. You want to make sure that your tool is always the same. Got it.

SPEAKER_03 45:30

I don't know where the enjoyment is. I don't know how he enjoys drinking wine out of those.

SPEAKER_00 45:34

And it is not professional.

SPEAKER_03 45:35

Yeah. It's lucky your husband doesn't listen to the podcast, Meg.

SPEAKER_04 45:43

But all his mates do, so they'll let him know. They'll let him know. But the other thing about the Pinot Glass is you could do Nebbiolo in here. You could do uh sort of cool climate syrah as well. Champagne in it would work.

SPEAKER_03 45:57

Well, I'm sorry, that's controversial. You would put champagne in it.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

I said Bla de Blanc.

SPEAKER_03 46:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

I said Blanc de Blanc. Specifically. Yeah, sure. Chardonnay based.

SPEAKER_04 46:08

Wow. Or yeah. All right. I don't know. That's the jete. I don't know if it's Blanc de Blanc.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

So is it this is this when this is going far. This is very somebody who likes it. I like these things.

SPEAKER_03 46:21

Yeah. I'm a glassmaker. So it's pull it out.

SPEAKER_00 46:24

I think Bosing Regular is too far.

COVID Boom, K Shaped Economy, Restaurants

SPEAKER_03 46:26

Look, our listeners, plenty of them say they have eight plus sets of wine glasses. They know what they're doing. I think it might be a good audience. Okay. We're thinking about opening a sparkling to try to put that to the test. But in the meantime, I have a little bit more of a drive with that car, that thing. Kind of moving away from the more romantic sensory stuff. I have a question because I know that a few years ago during COVID, glassware took off because everyone was at home and was investing in their at-home experience of drinking. Yeah. Oh, really? I oh gosh, yeah. Glassware is a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 47:04

This was a spike for a very unexpected spike in our business. Glassware, cookware, tableware. It started. A lot of people told me it started outside of the house, and then people went into the house and just improved the house because they couldn't go anywhere else.

SPEAKER_04 47:19

Yeah. Because I did invest, because I'd never done cocktails, really, cocktails, and I did invest in some beautiful. Ah, beautiful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:28

And some tools, I guess. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 47:30

And some spirits. So the current economic climate they're describing as K-shaped. So the ones at right at the top. Tell what is that? So the K-shaped economic climate, they're saying that the highest of the high are doing even better at the moment. And the low, the people at the low and middle end are going downwards. And I'm wondering what effect that's having on glassware. What are you seeing?

SPEAKER_00 47:58

First of all, we have to be realistic.

SPEAKER_03 48:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:01

We we just mentioned surprise of two glasses. And I am realistic. We are not targeting the low income. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_04 48:08

It's a luxury pitch.

SPEAKER_00 48:09

It is at least yeah, luxury to a certain degree. It is a luxury purchase. Yes. To a certain degree. Absolutely. So we are more middle to the higher end of the market. Spiegelau is really more middle to middle high.

SPEAKER_01 48:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 48:26

And I would say our consumer still has serious disposable income to invest in his enjoyments of daily life. But it is not only this, I think people are now going more out. So you spend more, restaurants are getting more expensive because costs are getting higher. Wine is getting more expensive. Wine production is getting more expensive.

SPEAKER_04 48:49

I've got to say, when I go to a restaurant, I eat out at pretty good Melbourne restaurants quite frequently. I don't ever take any notice of the glassware. You don't?

SPEAKER_02 49:00

Oh, you're crazy. I do.

unknown 49:01

I do.

SPEAKER_02 49:01

Because I guess even Austin does, Meg. I guess I just assume it's going to be good.

SPEAKER_04 49:08

Is looking at Meg with the wrong thing.

SPEAKER_00 49:10

I know.

SPEAKER_04 49:12

I'm just thinking I took a friend of.

SPEAKER_00 49:14

Hopefully I can change you.

SPEAKER_04 49:17

No, but I was just thinking I took a friend of mine who's a winemaker at Trinity Hill, one of a very good um wine winery in New Zealand, and we went to Supernormal. And I cannot even picture what the glassware was. Oh, if we at at We have a name on it.

SPEAKER_00 49:34

Here. And this is the big advantage of glassware. I'm not kidding. One of the biggest advantages of glassware is that we can write down a name here. So we can write down a brand here. Whereas on a table you don't. Yes. On a plate. Yeah. But um yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:51

Yeah, you have to empty it and turn it over.

SPEAKER_00 49:52

Yeah, you have to end it and turn it around, which is nasty.

SPEAKER_03 49:56

No, I I pay attention when I go somewhere, I not only pay attention to the wine glass, but if there's a plate in front of me before the food comes out, I look. I'm like, what is this? Where's this plate from?

SPEAKER_00 50:06

I think it is important.

SPEAKER_04 50:07

It of course it isn't, but I'm just saying, I went to Circle not long ago. Have you heard about Circle? It does a hundred wines by the glass.

SPEAKER_06 50:14

Yeah, yeah, I had a lot of.

SPEAKER_04 50:15

And they were constantly changing our glasses, and I didn't even look. I think I just trust the wine service so much. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:25

It's truly weird. Richard's face before was like I was enjoying your company. I thought we're gonna, I thought we were gonna be friends. And then he looked at her like, nah.

SPEAKER_00 50:34

No, no, no, no, no, no. It's just for us, as I said, for Spiegel, the hospitality market is half of our business. And for sure, we we hope and we try to convince restaurateurs constantly that it is very, very important. Same as to have a good wine list, to have nice glassware, branded glassware. A brand which has an experience which is serious in glassware, not just somebody who makes glasses as a disposable thing to which you can throw out.

SPEAKER_04 50:59

I'm gonna take notice now. I didn't notice on Friday night.

SPEAKER_03 51:02

Richard, I should not have doubted. I know that was so unexpected. The burgundy glass specifically, I really, really didn't think that I was gonna enjoy sparkling out of that. Do you know what it was? As it I think because the bowl is so big, as the glass came towards me, I was getting a whiff of secondary character. It was it's more that like yeasty, bready, brioche character. It really came to life more in this glass. Whereas, do you know what when you drink from a flute, you don't actually get aroma as taste.

SPEAKER_04 51:41

And you it's creamier on the texture because obviously some of the carbon dioxide's dis dissipating. You're looking at the wine, it gets a wine, yeah, rather than the bubble.

SPEAKER_03 51:51

It's mind-blowing. Good.

SPEAKER_00 51:52

See, so you can have a big advantage for the restaurant. Yeah, you drink faster.

Where To Buy And The MEGMEL Code

SPEAKER_03 52:01

Okay. Um, look, we've been here for a while. We absolutely need to get to the rest of your pack schedule. The last thing is we should probably just shout out that you can buy these online in Australia. The Spiegler website is the easiest place to go. The best place to go. And can I just give a shout out?

SPEAKER_04 52:20

Of course. Biodegradable compostable packaging, it will all end up.

SPEAKER_03 52:25

Meg loves sustainability. So this is um this is this is great for her.

SPEAKER_00 52:29

Perfect. Because the most sustainable thing is glass. Yes. Compared with plastic.

SPEAKER_03 52:36

Whatever. There we go. So the last thing that we need to cover off now is that you definitely do want to get it on the Spigler website because we have a code that you can use to get an extraordinary discount. I cannot believe that we have a code for 45%. Med, just asked if you can use it as well.

SPEAKER_04 52:56

No, I know. I'll just go in.

SPEAKER_03 52:58

If you are listening within the next month, you can access it. It is only going to be live until the end of April. So if you're listening to the back catalogue, sorry. You go buy them full price. They're still great. But 45% off Spiegel. So make sure you head to their website, use the code MEGMAL. We will also have this information on our Instagram. Check the show notes, send us a message. We'll make sure that you get access to this phase. I could not agree more. So the universal and the burgundy. What's the official name for the glitzy one?

SPEAKER_00 53:38

Well, the glitzy one, we call it lifestyle. The name is lifestyle.

SPEAKER_03 53:43

Okay. So you know your mate who is like moving into a new house, they've got like their house warming coming up, you don't know what to get them. Or someone's turning 30 and they're just kind of starting their wine journey. This is your gift. That's so your less wine friends, you're gonna get this glass. And for yourself, our wine nerds, you're gonna get the universal one and the burgundy one. Yeah. Damn. And the whiskey ones, really. Oh my god, I forgot about the whiskey. I like the whiskey one. Okay, but Richard, thank you so, so much for joining us. Thank you. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 54:14

So much, you both was a great experience.

SPEAKER_03 54:16

Go and have something nice to eat in Melbourne. Enjoy.

SPEAKER_00 54:18

I will. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 54:20

We will be back with you next week. Until then, enjoy your next glass of wine. And drink well. Thanks for listening to this episode and head to spiegel.com for an absolute treat offer from Spiegel to us and all our listeners.

SPEAKER_03 54:35

That's it. Remember to use the code MegMAL and upgrade your wine collection. You deserve it. Head to the website, it's spieglow.com.