Glass Consciousness

There’s little sense in averting one’s eyes to the oncoming locomotive of holiday shopping. Like it or not, it’s upon us. For wine merchants, like everyone else, it’s their busiest, most frenetic moment. For the buyer, this is not the most opportune time to start learning about wine. Even the most well-meaning merchant is feeling stretched and hurried, with little time (or inclination) to guide customers through the intricacies of what’s good out there. “You want a good Chardonnay? Here, get this one. Next?”

What’s needed is a crib sheet, something to slip into your purse or wallet, that gives you a quick assist amid all the frenzy. What should you buy for that wine lover on your list? Is there a special wine that could be the highlight of an evening? Is there a deal out there that you should buy by the case, either for yourself or as a gift?

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That’s Entertainment: Riedel Vinum Gourmet glasses ($6.95)--Perhaps the most overlooked element in enjoying wine is putting it in a decent glass. Yet the matter gets blank stares. Worse, it gets subjected to a kind of huffy anti-elitism: I can enjoy my wine in any old glass. True enough. But wouldn’t it be possible, even likely, that some wine glass shapes enhance wines more than other shapes?

The answer: You bet. The time is long overdue for wine fanciers (and the worst offenders of all, restaurateurs) to take their wine glasses in hand--and throw them out.

The old junk glasses should be replaced with Riedel (pronounced REE-dle) Vinum Gourmet glasses. Georg Riedel is an Austrian glassmaker who specializes in creating an ever-broadening array of wine glasses for all sorts of wines. The assortment is fast approaching the nonsensical. His approach, however, is solid and sensible.

Riedel offers several lines of glasses, all of exceptional quality. The Vinum line is Riedel’s machine-made glasses. (The more expensive Sommeliers series are mouth-blown.) Numerous Vinum styles are available, nearly all with elegant long stems and lovely shapes. But Riedel recently came to grips with a fact of life: Those lovely long-stemmed glasses don’t fit in most dishwashers. And most of us don’t want to wash our wine glasses by hand.

Although Riedel would deny it, there is such a thing as an all-purpose wine glass. I know this for a fact because I once spent a week testing nearly every Riedel wine glass with every imaginable sort of wine. And the glass in which they all showed wonderfully was Riedel’s Vinum Chianti Classico/Zinfandel glass, which has a deep, egg-shaped cup.

Riedel knows this too. So when he recently decided to create an all-purpose wine glass that would fit in dishwashers, he took the Chianti Classico/Zinfandel glass and simply whacked off the long stem. Now it fits in the dishwasher. The cup is the same depth and shape. The quality of the glass and its finishing are almost identical to those of the long-stemmed glasses.

Best of all, the price got whacked, too. The Vinum Chianti Classico/Zinfandel glass sells for $20. In comparison, the Vinum Gourmet glass sells for $6.95 a glass. No other all-purpose, high quality wine glass compares to this one for the money.

Riedel glasses are most easily found in wine shops. Recently, street prices on all Riedel glasses have become very competitive. Look for a 10-pack of the Gourmet glasses for as little as $50. Even the long-stemmed Chianti/Zinfandel glass can be found for as little as $11.99 if bought by the six-pack.

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The inexpensive white party wine: 1995 Columbia Johannisberg Riesling “Cellarmaster’s Reserve” ($6.95)--The ideal party wine must meet two criteria: It must be inexpensive (better yet, downright cheap) and it should be sippable. After all, most of us stand around at parties with a glass in hand and not much else. It’s not the moment for an austere, bracing wine that shines only with food. Slight sweetness is what you want.

If I were throwing a big party this year, this is the wine I’d serve. This Washington-grown Riesling is astonishingly good for the (very little) money. Unmistakably Riesling in taste, it offers classic Riesling flavors of apricot, honey and peach. Slightly sweet, it also is refreshing, as it has lovely acidity.

Worth noting is that Columbia also puts out a regular Riesling. You want the one designated “Cellarmaster’s Reserve,” which is richer, more intensely flavored and simply better. You can tell the two apart without even tasting them: The “Cellarmaster’s Reserve” is in a brown bottle; the regular has a green bottle. Price is the clincher: $6.95 a bottle and surely less by the case.

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The inexpensive red party wine: 1994 Perrin Reserve Co^tes du Rho^ne ($9.95)--This isn’t so much a new wine in an old bottle as a new label. For years, one of the best deals in red Co^tes du Rho^ne has been a reliable brand called La Vieille Ferme, the old farm. It was a brand created by the brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois Perrin of Chateau de Beaucastel, one of the supreme estates in the Rho^ne district of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

But now they have changed the name of the brand to simply Perrin Reserve. This is terrific red Co^tes du Rho^ne, a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% each of Cinsault and Mourvedre. It is a rich, fruity red wine that shows the extra punch offered by Syrah and Mourvedre, two especially choice red varieties. It’s a swell deal at $9.95. Look for a street price as low as $7.95, which makes it a flat-out bargain.

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A serious rose: 1995 Regaleali Rosato ($10.95)--The rarest wine in the world is a good rose. It’s not that such a wine is impossible--quite the opposite--it’s just that so few producers bother.

This is a really good rose. In fact, it’s so good that you’d be hard pressed to find a better one. The producer is Regaleali (pronounced reh-gah-lay-AH-lee), Sicily’s leading fine wine estate. Composed of two Italian red grape varieties, Nerello Mascalese (70%) and Calabrese (30%), this dry, violet-hued rose is more flavorful than many wine drinkers might imagine possible for a rose. This one, though, can take on almost any dish with which you might otherwise serve a full-fledged red. The ’95 vintage has just been released, so it’s fresh, vibrant and flavorful. Serve it as you would a real wine. Look for a street price as low as $8.95.

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High-end heaven (fine wines for celebration dinners):

1994 Babcock Estate Pinot Noir ($25)--One of California’s most successful ’94 Pinot Noirs from Babcock’s small vineyard west of U.S. Highway 101 in the Santa Ynez Valley appellation of Santa Barbara County. This is superb Pinot Noir, with admirable structure, length and definition.

1994 Ridge Chardonnay “Montebello” ($25)--Ridge Vineyards is almost synonymous with red wines, especially Zinfandel. And when the Montebello vineyard name comes up, Ridge’s famous Cabernet immediately leaps to mind. But the same Montebello vineyard high in the Santa Cruz Mountains also has Chardonnay planted in it. And the result is as memorable as the Cabernet, with even more mineral taste. This is terrific Chardonnay: intense and singular, with a noticeable stony taste. Look for a street price as low as $17.95.

Recently recommended and worth remembering:

1994 Spring Mountain Sauvignon Blanc ($14.95)--Intense, luscious and distinctive, with a delicious scent of figs and, especially, herbs.

1995 Jepson Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc ($9.95)--Crisp, refreshing and pure, Jepson’s Sauvignon Blanc always offers a scent of anise or licorice, which is entrancing.

1995 Jacques and Francois Lurton Merlot, ($6.95)--A luscious, easy-down-the-gullet French Merlot. Unbeatable for the money.