okay, this is not at all like me to pursue something in the comments section at wltv. i’m laid back, not dogged…except when it comes to misconception, mistaking perception based on expectation. i’m a cognitive psychologist, this is what i spend my 70 hour weeks studying: human behaviour. of course it makes absolute common sense that there’s going to be a difference in the effect of drinking champagne from a fish bowl versus from fluted crystal stemware, there is some physics at work here…but how much of it is your perception of the difference tastes because you expect the differences to be be there?
usually i’m pretty passive about watching garyv too. let him load while i work, watch with a distracted interest, pausing him when i need to attend to work. but, no, not today…when i saw he was going to cover this stemware issue everything else was put on hold while all my attention was on garyv. after the first round of tasting, it thought to myself, “garyv is as susceptible to illusion as we all are…he is human after all” but i really still needed to see the rest. and at the end, when he’s taking two practically identical glasses and claiming a difference i wanted to scream “Snob!” at the laptop. not Garyv!!!
and then i saw the grin. and then the last comment. and i thought, well ha, there it is. he’s a very clever fellow. this is why he’s interesting. so i said so much in a comment. i thought everyone would see it…garyv, once again, teaching us. our bodhisattva. but then i read the comments and man-oh-man, you’re all taking this too seriously. you perceive the wine tastes better in the Sommeliers because you spent a freakin fortune on the glasses and you only take them out for the best occasions and for the best wines.
i grant you that there is art in wine making and wine appreciation but grant me that there is also science. an excerpt from cnn.money.com, an article called be a better liar, may 1, 2005:

“….Parker and Matthews and hundreds of other wine luminaries are now believers (and as a result, they are Riedel’s best word-of-mouth marketers). Millions of wine drinkers around the world have been persuaded that a $200 bottle of Opus One (or a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck) tastes better when served in the proper Riedel glass.

Yet when tests are done scientifically–double-blind tests that eliminate any chance that the subject would know the shape of the glass–there is absolutely zero detectable difference among glasses. A $1 glass and a $20 glass deliver precisely the same impact on the wine: none.

So what’s going on? Why do wine experts insist that the wine tastes better in a Riedel glass at the same time that scientists can easily prove it doesn’t? The flaw in the experiment, as outlined by Daniel Zwerdling in Gourmet magazine, is that the reason the wine tastes better is that people believe it should. This makes sense, of course. Taste is subjective. Riedel sells millions of dollars’ worth of glasses every year. It sells glasses to intelligent, well-off wine lovers, who then proceed to enjoy their wine more than they did before. Marketing, in the form of an expensive glass and the story that goes with it, has more impact on the taste of wine than oak casks or fancy corks or the rain in June. Georg Riedel makes your wine taste better by telling you a story.”

Jaye…I think that bringing your own glass is a good idea for tastings.
I took my own glass to “Wine South” because they were giving away glasses…that means you get a cheap POS.
I left my “free” glass on the table.
…Now thinking about it…maybe this makes us wine snobs!!! Oh well. I saw a guy at “Wine South” with his own glass AND his own spit bucket! That was awesome…and you know I asked him where he got his kick ass bucket too!!! I will be that guy next time!

SS Chris, I was looking at your SS and wondering how you will score the Caymus.

Marc T,

Gary scored the Caymus from 91 to 95. So, on my spreadsheet, I gave it a 95. I figured it wasn’t fair to score a red wine that was tasted in a champagne glass. Moreover, the 95 was registered while GV was using the Bordeaux, which is the glass he typically uses.

With all that being said, it will not show up on the Web SS (as opposed to my personal SS that I still maintain for myself). Anyway one of the “limitations” of the Web tool is that it requires a WL Code in order for me to enter anything. Since this is sold out, I can’t find the WL code on the WL website. I need to reach out to people to try to get that code which will allow me to enter the Rating and tasting notes, etc.

Karen…I could not disagree with you more…I have done blind tastings in the manner of not knowing any way possible what glass I was drinking out of and even if I was drinking the same wine and the glass made a noticeable difference. Now this is my own closed experiment and although I am not a doctor or a scientist I have also studied upper level psychology. I do agree that one can have a mental deception of reality when there are non placebos in place also.
But I truly believe that glasses make a difference.

On a side note…I have never paid more than $10/pc for stemware.

Muchas gracias to both GaryV and SS Chris. This epi gets a 98.

Muchas gracias to both GaryV and SS Chris. This epi gets a 98.

On a second side note…I have paid $865 for one bottle of wine…WTF?!?!?!?!?!

Karen – Great post – But sorry I dont buy it. Science says there no such thing as a curveball. I don’t belive that either

Gary, Please don’t apologize for not getting to questions when you deliver episodes like today and yesterday. Outstanding episodes, fun, educational, and informative. I continue to enjoy every day!

Hiya Karen — I also disagree with you . . . to some degree. After buying my Syrah glasses I noticed there was little (if any) discernable difference between the two samples. However, there is a very noticeable difference between the Chablis and the Bordeaux. There is also a very noticeable difference between drinking wine out of gorgeous Waterford crystal and a Riedel wine glass . . . and by the way, the Riedel Vinums cost a lot less than my Waterford too.

For most people the difference in taste would be absolutely imperceptible. This is also why I would never waste a 20 year old Bordeaux on someone who thinks Yellowtail is “awesome”. However, for those of us who really look for those differences in wine . . . the things that make a wine unique — the shape of the glass does seem to make a difference. And frankly, I have no problem spending $24 on a Bordeaux glass that I will use over and over and over again to drink wines that cost $30 – $300. If I am spending that much on a wine, and have then allowed it to cellar for 5-15 years, I want to make sure I am getting every aspect of that wine.

oops . . . no diference between Syrah and Bordeaux.

oops . . . no diference between Syrah and Bordeaux.

Gary-
I don’t care what anyone says.
I like the shirt and tie!
It is a cool outfit!
It shows you (& Liz) have good taste in clothing!
Or is that Liz & you?
Anyway, you have good taste!

Brandon M,
I am glad to see I am not the only one who works!
I wasn’t at home for almost a month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My new job is good
but being gone that long is exhausting!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

SS Chris,
Sorry about that.
I meant to say time
consuming.
Anyway, I haven’t had much sleep.
I am not a good speller even when I have had sleep.

Gary-
More education – excellent!
Thanks for the tip using a funnel and taking wine to a restaurant.
I just have to find a restaurant that will let me BYOB and not kick me out!

Enjoyed a “Hearty Burgundy” in a “looney toon” grape jelly glass on a lawn chair on a summer evening.
Priceless, Absolutely Priceless

Did anyone see that catch by Endy Chavez?

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Mets!!!!!!!

Gary,

I really enjoyed this episode and I echo the sentiment above, I hope to see more like this.

QOD: Only with the nose have I noticed a difference btw. glasses. Now, would I run out and get a different glass for every wine – the answer is no – I’ll stick to the basics – a glass for reds, a glass for whites and a glass for the bubbly.

However, what I would also like to note that I have experienced an extreme difference in glasses when I dine out, but I don’t think it was the glass that made the difference, but rather how they were cleaned. For example, my wife & I tried the Cain Concept out at a restaurant – we experienced a really shocking vanilla nose on the wine. But when we tried it at home in our glasses, the vanilla nose was completely absent and the taste was also very different. So we were wondering what the difference was – then we tried a Cab. Sauv. at another restaurant and what would you know – the same exact vanilla nose. Now our glasses at home were not far off from the glasses in the restaurant and we decanted the same time as in the restaurant (plus we did it 3 times), so the only difference we can guess is the way the glasses are cleaned at some restaurants. At home we basically use hot water and minimal detergent on occasion. I don’t know, but has anyone else experienced the same?

I really enjoyed this episode and I echo the sentiment above, I hope to see more like this.

QOD: Only with the nose have I noticed a difference btw. glasses. Now, would I run out and get a different glass for every wine – the answer is no – I’ll stick to the basics – a glass for reds, a glass for whites and a glass for the bubbly.

However, what I would also like to note that I have experienced an extreme difference in glasses when I dine out, but I don’t think it was the glass that made the difference, but rather how they were cleaned. For example, my wife & I tried the Cain Concept out at a restaurant – we experienced a really shocking vanilla nose on the wine. But when we tried it at home in our glasses, the vanilla nose was completely absent and the taste was also very different. So we were wondering what the difference was – then we tried a Cab. Sauv. at another restaurant and what would you know – the same exact vanilla nose. Now our glasses at home were not far off from the glasses in the restaurant and we decanted the same time as in the restaurant (plus we did it 3 times), so the only difference we can guess is the way the glasses are cleaned at some restaurants. At home we basically use hot water and minimal detergent on occasion. I don’t know, but has anyone else experienced the same?

PeteB – I use dishwashing liquid with a good rinsing. Then dry with a lint-free towel. Bascially everything you aren’t supposed to do. Haven’t tasted soap or cloth yet!

Gary,

Nice billboard outside of Giants (Jets) stadium.
W-I-N-E!

Vanyiacs-
Since I don’t own any wine glasses yet.
How are you supposed to wash wine glasses?
Does anyone know?

100 !?!?!?!?!?!?
Keep the comments coming Vanyiacs!!