Riedel vs Spiegelau: Same Owner, Different Glasses

Extreme is one of Riedel's machine-made collections, reintroduced in 2018 and aimed at big New World reds. The Cabernet glass has a diamond-shaped bowl with a wide surface, holds about 28 ounces and stands about 9.7 inches tall. Riedel says it is machine-made from crystal in Bavaria, Germany, and that all Riedel glasses are dishwasher safe.

The set of four is sold as a pay-three-get-four pack, which is what brings it within $5 a stem of the Spiegelau. It gives a Cabernet, Bordeaux or Malbec a great deal of room, and on a table it reads as a decision rather than a default.

The size is also the objection. It needs a tall shelf and room in the top rack, and a normal pour looks lost in it. Skip it if your household drinks mostly white wine or lighter reds, or if you want one glass for everything, which is the Spiegelau's job.

Definition is Spiegelau's newer, thinner machine-made line, designed in 2021, and the Universal is its all-purpose glass: a tapered bowl of 550 milliliters, about 19 ounces, 237 millimeters tall and 92 millimeters across at the widest point. The Amazon listing says it is made in Germany from lead-free crystal, and Spiegelau's own page calls it premium machine-made, dishwasher safe, and engineered to last through frequent washing.

It is the glass for a household that wants one shape on the shelf. The listing pitches it for Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc alike, which is what a universal glass is for, and at about 9.3 inches it fits a standard top rack and most cupboards. The set of four is sold by Amazon.

Skip it if you want the dramatic Cabernet bowl; it is a quieter, narrower glass and a Bordeaux will not open up in it the way it does in the Riedel. Spiegelau makes a Definition Bordeaux glass, but it is not sold on Amazon by Amazon or the brand at the moment.

Zwiesel Kristallglas, from the town of Zwiesel in the same Bavarian Forest where Spiegelau began, is the German maker Riedel did not buy. Pure is its modern line, recognizable by the angular shoulder where the bowl meets its upright sides. The Bordeaux holds about 23 ounces and stands 10.5 inches tall, and the rim tapers in to hold the aroma of a Cabernet or a Merlot.

The glass is Zwiesel's Tritan crystal, a lead-free glass made in Germany with titanium and zirconium in place of lead. The practical result is a glass that goes through the dishwasher for years without clouding and does not chip at the rim as easily as ordinary glass. Amazon sells the pair directly.

Skip it if you want a traditional round bowl; the angled profile is a matter of taste. At 10.5 inches it is the tallest glass here.

Forte is the collection Schott Zwiesel describes as particularly sturdy and resilient, with clear, plain lines. This wine and water goblet holds about 17 ounces and stands about 8.9 inches tall, which fits more cupboards and more dishwashers than any glass above. It is machine-made in Germany from Tritan crystal glass, the lead-free glass with titanium and zirconium oxide that Zwiesel built its reputation on.

It is the glass for parties, patios and kitchens with children in them, and it works as a water glass on the nights nobody opens a bottle. The listing suggests it for full-bodied whites and young reds.

Skip it if you want a bowl large enough to swirl a full-bodied red properly. The Riedel or the Pure does that better.