2025 opens, as usual, with the Previews of Italian wine, which inaugurate the calendar of key sector events, starting with the appointments with two of the most famous and appreciated wine regions of Italy on a global level: the Langhe and Valpolicella protagonists respectively of the ninth edition of Grandi Langhe, on January 27 and 28 in Turin, and of the 21st of Amarone Opera Prima, in Verona on February 1 and 2. Here are the suggestions of Maximilian Riedel on which glasses to use to best taste Barolo and Barbaresco, the great reds from Nebbiolo grapes, and the King of Valpolicella, His Majesty Amarone.
The Nebbiolo glass from the Veloce line: the perfect choice for Barolo and Barbaresco
The main grape variety of the Langhe is Nebbiolo, a variety towards which Riedel, assisted by its historic partner Gaja, has always paid great interest and attention in order to create the perfect glass to enhance its extraordinary peculiarities.
The grape variety, as always, will be celebrated on January 27 and 28 during the ninth edition of Grandi Langhe, the eagerly awaited Turin event that every year inaugurates the Previews of Italian wine and that showcases a wide range of top wines from Piedmont, a guarantee of quality and excellence, produced in one of the richest wine-making areas in Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014.
Riedel glasses are precision instruments that bring with them all the experience in specific glassware of the last three generations of the family company – now led by the 11th, Maximilian Riedel, president and CEO of Riedel Crystal – and all the knowledge of the characteristics of the different varieties of wine and spirits, through pioneering challenges successfully conducted over the last 70 years.
Whether Barolo, Barbaresco or Nebbiolo d’Alba, there is only one shape that best enhances the typologies derived from this grape variety, characterized by intense and complex aromas, beautiful structure, high acidity and balanced tannins, usually never aggressive, to guarantee longevity and elegance.
“Our Nebbiolo glass from the Veloce line, produced by machine but with a workmanship that borders on the most refined craftsmanship, is the ideal vessel,” says Maximilian Riedel, who continues “as a great enthusiast of Barolo and Barbaresco I am firmly convinced of the functionality of this glass which, thanks to the wider part of the bowl, offers these typologies the space necessary to develop their aromas, capturing every nuance of their character. It has no rivals. The production style changes, but not the DNA of the grape variety, which remains unique and immutable”.
Which glasses to use to best taste Amarone: suggestions from Maximilian Riedel
Nebbiolo is not the only protagonist of the great Italian wine events at the beginning of 2025. In fact, for those who most appreciate the great reds of the Northeast, at the beginning of February his Majesty Amarone is celebrated with the previews of the new vintage of the king among the reds of Valpolicella on stage at Amarone Opera Prima, an unmissable event for the specialized press and operators organized by the Consortium for the Protection of Valpolicella Wines.
The right glass? Perhaps one day there will also be a glass dedicated exclusively to the typology, but for the moment Riedel suggests as the ideal instrument the Hermitage glass or, again, the Syrah glass (Old World) by Riedel Veritas, the best-selling line that started the machine production of ultra-light glasses specific for grape variety: elegant and timeless, this collection is made thanks to a special technology developed for Riedel thus confirming the leadership of the Austrian company in the sector of crystal glasses for consumers and professionals.
This shape, in particular, is capable of enhancing the typical spicy and fruit-in-alcohol notes of Amarone to the highest levels, up to the more complex tertiary notes of cocoa, leather, tobacco and liquorice, and of accompanying the breadth and softness of the sip, supported by its important tannins.
