Eisch Breathable Glass
In order for most wines to be fully enjoyed, they must be in contact with the atmosphere outside their
bottle. The Eisch Superior Breathable Glass stemware are crafted of lead-free crystal and undergo a
unique oxygenization treatment that strongly accelerates the reaction of the wine with atmospheric
oxygen. In only two to four minutes - instead of one to two hours spent in a decanter - the glasses
allow the individual aroma and bouquet of your vintage to fully develop.
Wine Glass Accessories
Eisch Breathable Glass Gift Tube
The glasses come normally packaged in plain packaging for six. But the heavy
cardboard Eisch Breathable Glass Gift Tube may provide more
durable/decorative packaging for individual glass gift giving.
Eisch Breathable Glass FAQ's
Is the decanting carafe a thing of the past now?
No!
Enjoying wine means much more than only drinking – enjoying wine
involves social-cultural demands. It is the pleasant hours of the day
that are accompanied by a glass of wine: Hours of relaxation, of
"slowing down", of cooking or having dinner together with friends – all
this takes place without any need to hurry, and everyone has all the
time to decant the wine in the crystal carafe – it is already the
preparation of the wine that is celebrated here.
Of course it has no negative effect at all if an already perfectly
prepared wine is drunk from a Breathable Glass.
And – last but not least – a crystal decanter meets aesthetic
demands: It definitely makes the table more beautiful, and this alone is
why it is preferable to the simple wine bottle. For all people today
suffering from a lack of time, this is another possibility: Open the
wine bottle – immediately serve the wine in a decanting carafe – and
optimally enjoy the wine in a Breathable Glass. This will satisfy both
the aesthete and the wine connoisseur!
Does the BREATHABLE GLASS only improve wine, or also other
drinks?
With the Breathable Glass a distinct improvement can be achieved with
most wines, but it depends on each individual case how h4 this
improving effect will be. Decanting also does not lead to an improvement
in every case! The Breathable Glass, however, will not turn a bad wine
into a good one! On the contrary, care must be taken with a bad wine,
because the Breathable Glass is incorruptible! Any possibly existing
flaws such as a slight taste of cork will be mercilessly punished by the
Breathable Glass, because it will also intensify these aromas.
In addition to wine, Breathable Glasses can also lead to improvements
with spirits, fruit juices, and mineral water.
Does Breathable Glass change the chemistry of wine?
There is no change at all in the wine, for example ionization or a
change of the pH-value. Only the natural decanting process is
accelerated.
How are BREATHABLE GLASSES identified?
Every Breathable Glass has this label on the goblet:
and this is the really decisive feature – the following sandblasting mark at the bottom:
Does Breathable Glass require special care?
The Breathable Glass permanently keeps its properties. It can be treated
just like any other high-quality crystal glass and does not require any
special care.
Development and Properties of Breathable Glass
The idea for BREATHABLE GLASS
For years and decades, wine glass research primarily has concentrated on
finding the goblet shape that optimally brings out a specific wine to
advantage, and this has brought about considerable success, providing
today's wine connoisseur with a great variety of different goblet shapes
and sizes for enjoying exquisite wines.
This approach, however, increasingly reaches its limits today, because a
continuing differentiation of glasses not only with respect to the type
of wine, but also to growing region and vintage, can be realized
technically, but hardly can be put into practice by the individual
consumer. For approximately 5 years Eisch has researched with the
question of how to impart an additional dimension to an optimally shaped
wine glass for the benefit of wine enjoyment.
The manufacturing technology of BREATHABLE GLASS
The result of this research led to a new revolution in the wine glass
technology with a new generation of goblets, the "Breathable Glass" –
i.e. glasses that "breathe". These glasses are made from a special raw
material mixture, the so-called batch, in lead-free crystal quality.
After the actual manufacturing process, the glasses undergo a
proprietary oxygenization treatment, which gives the Breathable Glass
its unique properties.
The properties of BREATHABLE GLASS
Many wines need to be in contact with atmospheric oxygen in order to
optimally develop their bouquet and aromas, which is why the wine
usually is opened 1-2 hours before drinking, and is decanted in a
special carafe. Many a time, however, these 1-2 hours are not available,
because who does always know whether he wants to drink a glass of wine
in 2 hours, and if so, which one? In a restaurant, the ordered wine has
to be served within only a few minutes, and also at home the small glass
of wine cannot necessarily be planned hours in advance.
This is exactly where the Breathable Glass comes into play; you only
need 2 to 4 minutes in a Breathable Glass to develop the bouquet and
aromas of the wine. Time-consuming decanting is no longer necessary, in
a Breathable Glass the wine reaches its optimum shortly after it is
poured. The Breathable Glass has a completely natural effect – it simply
accelerates the reaction of the wine with the atmospheric oxygen that
takes place anyway. The original character of the wine and its structure
are maintained, while the wine opens up and gains taste and volume.
Wine information and education
Wine information
More about Breathable Glasses
Breathing new life into your wine glass
BEPPI CROSARIOL
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail September 5, 2007 at 8:51 AM EDT
Drinking can be hard work.
Browse the wine corner of any good kitchenware store and you'll appreciate the challenge. There are decanters for aerating astringent reds and softening their gritty tannins, funnels with shower-like nozzles for doing the same job, fancy stemware in myriad shapes to focus flavours to precise regions of the mouth.
The truly obsessive can even buy a bottle coaster called Wine Cellar Express purporting to align gritty tannins into a smoother, suppler configuration, like
metal filings in one of those Grade 5 magnetism experiments
Now add another Ripley's-worthy "breakthrough" to your wine appreciation
arsenal: Breathable Glass.
Eisch Glaskultur, a German company, has launched a sensational line of
stemware the company says vastly accelerates the contact between wine and
oxygen. No swirling, shower nozzles or decanters necessary.
Simply pour your wine into the glass and, in two to four minutes, your harsh
young cabernet will supposedly taste as soft and multilayered as a wine
that's been aerating in a decanter for up to two hours.
Launched several years ago in the United States, the line was introduced to
Canada earlier this year.
If it sounds like hocus-pocus worthy of Kreskin, you can be forgiven. But
consider this: Eager customers include Thomas Keller's famed French
Laundry restaurant in California's Napa Valley, the Sheraton hotel in San
Francisco, the illustrious Hotel Hassler in Rome and the Westin hotel in
Beijing.
"I think the wine just opens up faster in the Eisch," said David Bernand,
food and beverage director of the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C.,
which recently bought the glasses for use in its two private dining rooms
adjacent to the Seasons restaurant.
Mr. Bernand, a trained sommelier, speaks with conviction. He said he
arranged a controlled tasting about a year ago with several Washington hotel
and restaurant colleagues, testing a number of the same high-end wines out
of comparably shaped glasses, including those of famed Austrian wineglass
maker Riedel. "We had a bright room and the wines were at the right
temperature," he said. "We did everything right."
The entire group of tasters found the wines in the Eisch glasses to be softer,
more complex and fruitier, with less-astringent tannins.
Another convert is Susan Julian, director of winery retail and hospitality at
Niagara's Lakeview Cellars, who recently began selling the Breathable Glass
line after her own taste test.
She likens it to a sort of iPhone of wine gizmos. "You know how your
cellphones used to be just phones but now they're cameras and radios and email
pagers and all that stuff? It's almost like that, where you don't need a
decanter any more, the funnel or the aerator-type gadget."
Canadian sales of the line have exceeded expectations since it was launched
in March, says Bishu Mukherjee, president of Mississauga-based B&M
Marketing (Canada) Inc., which imports the brand, priced at $25 to $30 a
stem and available at Pepper Mill stores in Toronto and other high-end
tableware retailers.
Although Eisch closely guards the secret to its manufacturing process,
theories abound. The best I've heard comes from esteemed U.S. wine critic
Robert Parker, who became impressed after testing the glasses at an event
held at the Culinary Institute of America in California. He guesses there are
microscopic holes in the glass that trap and aerate the wine. It wouldn't be a
big stretch; fine crystal is slightly porous, after all, which is why decanters
tend to stain if not rinsed quickly.
Oxygen's influence on wine is well known. Once exposed, the wine behaves
like any other fruit stripped of its protective skin. Eventually, it bruises
like a sliced apple, but along the way its flavour evolves in sometimes wondrous
ways. Aerating most wines is almost like adding salt to soup or tenderizing a
tough cut of meat. That's the reason many wine experts prefer to decant
young wines in particular - because they tend to contain more tannins. Even
fuller-bodied whites, however, can benefit from a little aeration.
I tried a controlled test myself, using an Eisch glass with the breathable
technology against an identically shaped Eisch glass made of traditional
glass. Using indistinguishable glasses enabled me to perform the comparison
blind - in other words, I didn't know which was which until I checked for a
little hash mark in the base of the Breathable Glass.
Wearing my skeptic's hat and tasting from a freshly uncorked bottle of Peter
Lehmann's Clancy's, a $20 Australian blend of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon
and merlot, I came to this surprising conclusion: a very discernible
difference after just three minutes.
The conventional glass had a bitter edge that was significantly less
pronounced in the Breathable Glass, while the latter exposed more fruitiness
and complex layers of earth and spice. I'm talking subtle differences here,
though. A casual taster would not have noticed a difference without paying
attention. Still, it's the kind of difference someone paying $20-plus a bottle
is
likely to be paying attention to.
After three hours, I was still easily able to correctly identify the glasses and
preferred the Clancy's out of the Breathable Glass (save for some cloying
prune character on the nose of the latter). That was a surprise, since I'd
expected the traditional glass to catch up, so to speak, with its Breathable
counterpart after extended exposure. Even a bit of vigorous swirling with the
traditional glass didn't close the flavour gap.
Mr. Mukherjee stresses the lead-free Eisch glasses are dishwasher-safe and
don't introduce foreign flavours to the wine; you taste the same changes that
would happen in any other glass, only much, much more quickly.
The product of five years of research, the Breathable Glass is the latest shot
across the bow of Riedel, the innovative company that started a revolution in
wine appreciation with its now-vast family of big-bowled glasses, specially
shaped to enhance the qualities of each major grape variety. Arc
International, a French tableware company, also recently introduced a
conventional glass line called Open Up from its Mikasa subsidiary, which
have sharper angles and contours than most Riedel glasses but purport to do
a similar job.
Owners of handsome Riedel stemware won't, of course, ditch their beloved
stems. But I suspect there's a substantial niche market for the Eisch glasses.
What's that saying? Build a better golf driver and rich boomers will beat a
path to your door? It's the same with wine lovers and their paraphernalia.
"I have a problem drinking even a bad wine out of a plastic cup," Mr.
Bernand says. "I'm going to try to do anything I can to have a better
experience. I'm going to put all the chances on my side."
But, he sagely adds by way of a reality check, "I don't think it's going to
make the Mouton '89 taste better than the '88."
Un verre qui respire pour l'Antic
Jean-François Demers
Édition du vendredi 15 juin 2007
Le Breathable Glass permet d'éviter de décanter et de laisser le vin reposer en carafe
Pendant des lustres, les verriers ont cherché à obtenir la forme de coupe idéale pour servir le vin. L'époque du
gros ballon à rouge très lourd et du verre à la tige verte pour les vins d'Alsace ou ambrée pour les vins de Moselle
est révolue, et c'est tant mieux. Du gobelet en étain aux extravagants Impitoyables, l'industrie de la verrerie n'a
pas cessé de nous impressionner et de nous faire acheter de nouveaux verres.
Dans les années 70, le verre en forme de tulipe était révolutionnaire. Dix ans plus tard, c'est le verre INAO, le
verre à dégustation, qui est devenu la référence. Ce fut ensuite le tour de Riedel, la prestigieuse société
autrichienne, de faire plancher ses ingénieurs sur ce dossier. Les tests et les résultats sont impressionnants: la
forme du verre, la quantité de liquide, la chute et l'angle d'attaque du vin en bouche font toute la différence.
En théorie, c'est tout à fait compréhensible. Selon la grandeur de l'ouverture, la forme, les courbes, la hauteur et
la diffusion du vin sur la langue, tout s'explique. En pratique, je dois avouer que le résultat est pour le moins
surprenant. Il y a effectivement une différence d'un verre à l'autre. Les parfums et les sensations s'échappant du
verre offrent des différences très marquées; le vin ne se présente pas de la même manière. Certains verres
favorisent les arômes de fruits et amplifient le moelleux tandis que d'autres permettent aux notes florales, à la
fraîcheur ou aux tanins de s'exprimer davantage. Il ne s'agit donc pas d'un verre à boire pour apaiser sa soif. Ici, les
qualités et les défauts du vin sont pris en otage par le verre, qui influence et dicte même l'expression et les
impressions d'un vin.
Mais voilà que le monde du vin vient d'être à nouveau témoin d'une autre innovation: une nouvelle série de verres
appelée Breathable Glass («verre respirant») de la maison Eisch Glaskultur. Ne reculant devant rien pour la dive
bouteille, j'ai préparé mon expérience. J'ai laissé deux verres sur ma table de travail pendant plus d'une quinzaine
de jours en attendant un vin que j'aime, un vin qui m'allume et dont je connais les qualités et la structure. Les
verres étaient identiques en forme et en taille. Finalement, j'ai mis la main sur l'Antic 2003 de Mathieu Cosse. Sans
tarder, je l'ai mis à l'épreuve dans ces verres. Ceux-ci portaient la marque d'Eisch, mais dans le cas d'un de ces
verres, cette marque était soulignée d'une petite vague rappelant un courant d'air. C'était le Breathable Glass. Au
toucher, j'ai constaté que ce verre était un peu plus mince et moins lourd, mais pour le reste, les deux verres
étaient identiques... ou presque.
Sceptique, très sceptique! J'ai versé la même quantité de vin dans les deux verres. Dans le verre traditionnel,
l'Antic 2003 se présentait avec un nez de fruits noirs, de poivron, de terre, de griotte et d'un peu d'épices. Dans le
verre dit «respirant», le nez était un peu plus complexe avec une touche de poussière, une framboise magnifique
et des notes de fleur, d'élevage et de prune. La différence était là, sous mon nez. En bouche, le verre traditionnel
présentait un vin doté d'une belle charpente, aux tanins jeunes, fins et assez virils en finale. La longueur était
bonne, consistante et fraîche. Difficile de demander mieux: le vin était franc et complet. Mais dans l'autre verre,
c'était un tout autre vin. Le volume était plus imposant, la charpente plus corpulente, la finale tout aussi longue
et un peu plus étoffée.
Après avoir laissé passer quatre minutes, montre en main, le premier s'est avéré plus vineux, plus sévère et plus
vif. Dans le deuxième, tout était plus mûr et plus complexe, avec la même puissance mais avec plus de
profondeur. Le cassis explosait.
Pendant les 30 minutes qui ont suivi, le premier n'a presque pas bougé tandis que le second avait acquis un charme
exemplaire et même une dimension beaucoup plus solennelle. C'était à se demander si ce vin magnifique était
produit par le même Mathieu Cosse.
Mythe, mystère ou réalité? Je dois avouer que le résultat est fascinant. Ce verre d'Eisch permet d'éviter de
décanter et de laisser le vin en carafe pendant une heures ou deux. Le résultat est remarquable et le vin ne s'en
porte que mieux. J'ai tenté l'expérience avec des blancs, et la différence est un peu moins marquée. J'utilisais le
même verre pour ces blancs de type Bordeaux. J'ai bien hâte d'essayer de nouveau avec un bon vieux vin blanc et
le verre qui lui est consacré. J'ai poussé l'expérience avec d'autres vins rouges (cahors, bordeaux supérieur) et la
différence entre les deux verres est remarquable.
Malheureusement, le secret de ce verre qui respire est jalousement gardé. Selon la compagnie Eisch, ce «verre
respirant» ne contient aucune trace de plomb et on a recours à une technique de micro-bulles dans la confection.
Je soupçonne un alliage rappelant «la clef du vin» ou une surface plus poreuse. Quoi qu'il en soit, ça marche. Ce
verre s'entretient comme tous les autres verres et va même au lave-vaisselle. Si quelqu'un connaît le secret, je
promets de garder ça entre nous!
- Breathable Glass de la compagnie Eisch, disponible à la boutique Aux Plaisirs de Bacchus.
A letter from The Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
2555 Main Street
St. Helena, CA 94574
Tel: 707-967-1100
www.ciaprochef.com
September 17, 2007
Alan Zalayet, Export Director
Eisch Glasskultur
Am Steg 7
94258 Frauenau
GERMANY
Dear Mr Zalayet:
On the eve of the 4
th
Annual Robert M. Parker, Jr. Seminar & Tasting, it is appropriate,
on behalf of the entire Culinary Institute of America family, to express our
appreciation
for Eisch Glasskultur’s years of support.
This year’s Robert Parker event … California Cult Wines … will provide the
fourth
opportunity for both trade and consumers to appreciate the advantages of Eisch’s
Breathable
TM
wine glasses.
In addition to four years of support for the Robert Parker Wine Advocate endowed
scholarship program here at the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies, Eisch
Glasskultur Breathable
TM
wine glasses were used for the 1
st
Annual Vintners Hall of
Fame Induction Dinner last March. We look forward to this year’s dinner and your
continued participation.
We also want to Thank You for the logo Breathable
TM
wine glasses which will be
unveiled this winter at the CIA’s Wine & Food Enthusiast Center at Astor Win e &
Spirits in Manhattan.
And, finally, all of us here at the Greystone campus eagerly await the shipment
of our
recent order of Breathable
TM
wine glasses for our Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant
and the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies as well as our Special Events
and
Continuing Education departments.
Thank You.
Charles E. Henning, C.H.A
Managing Director
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
Add some air time to your red wines
November 17, 2007
Stop me if you've heard this one before: the best way to make a $10 wine taste like a $20 wine is by decanting it.
Simply pour the wine from its bottle into another clean container, like a large glass pitcher or decorative crystal
decanter.
Decanting is traditionally practised with young red wines. The astringent streak of a young red can be softened
(made less bitter), and the wine made more aromatic and flavourful after being exposed to air. That sudden
whoosh of air helps to wake up the aromas and open up the flavours. Leaving the wine to "breathe" in the
decanter helps mellow its flavour and make it more pleasant to taste. Older wines are decanted to separate the
wine from any sediment that has developed in the bottle.
As you might gather, I'm a big fan of decanting. I preach the joys of decanting to my wine appreciation classes
whenever possible. The ah-ha moment for some of my students came earlier this week when I presented a wine
that they were familiar with, the Wayne Gretzky 2006 Merlot. The bottle was opened three hours before class
and poured into a decanter. Fifteen minutes later it, was decanted back into the bottle, to make pouring easier.
Those who were familiar with the wine, including one who works at a restaurant where it is poured by the glass,
didn't recognize it. When its identity was revealed, they expressed amazement: "I've had that wine five or six
times, just pulled the cork and poured, and I always enjoyed it," explained one. The sample in front of him was
judged to be fuller and richer - a better glass of wine.
As the holidays approach, I keep my eyes peeled for nice, affordable decanters. I think they make a great gift for
wine lovers. Best of all, you don't have to spend a lot of money. Old glass pitchers from thrift stores can have
charm. A friend has an antique apothecary measuring cylinder that always draws compliments. Ideally, you're
looking for something with a wider bottle, which makes for greater surface area.
If shabby chic doesn't cut it, there's a growing array of affordable crystal decanters. Riedel has a stylish model,
named Merlot that retails for $20. Its Syrah model, which has a pour spout to help prevent splashing, sells for
$35. Both are stocked at a number of wineries in the region, including Jackson-Triggs Niagara in Niagara-on-the-
Lake and Fielding Estates in Beamsville.
Along the same line, a new wine accessory that is creating buzz this year is a line of "breathable" glassware from
Germany. The marketing for the Eisch Superior Breathable Glass claims a wine poured into the glass "for just
two to four minutes will show signs of aeration equivalent to the same wine that has been decanted and aerated
for one to two hours."
I auditioned the lead-free crystal glasses last week, pouring the same young red wine from Niagara into a
"breathable" glass and a traditional glass with a similar shape that was produced by the same manufacturer.
Twelve colleagues were asked to try the wine and tell me what they thought. An overwhelming majority (10 out
of 12) stated that the breathable glass had more intense aromas and a wider range of aromatics. One taster
found no discernable difference, another liked the sample in the traditional glass because it was less aromatic.
The glasses are stocked at Tawse Winery and Lakeview Cellars, both on Cherry Avenue in Vineland. Tawse has
been using them at the tasting bar recently to gauge customer response.
Eisch's breathable glassware has a suggested retail price of $28 per stem. Call it the ideal gift for the wine lover
who has everything - except time to leisurely decant their wine.
Christopher Waters is founding editor of VINES magazine and wine appreciation co-ordinator at the Cool Climate
Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University. His wine articles are archived at www.watersandwine.com. He
can be reached by e-mail at vin@vaxxine.com
Breathable Glass put to the test
Tim Pawsey
Special To North Shore News
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Hired Belly is occasionally on the receiving end of some weird and wonderful things.
Even so, he sat up and took extra notice at the arrival of the latest invention: the breathable wine glass,
which claims to "open" up or aerate the wine in a matter of minutes, compared to much longer than
normally required through decanting or just letting the wine sit in the glass. It's now common knowledge
when it comes to wine tasting that using the right shape of glass can make all the difference.
Much of the credit must go to 11th-generation Austrian glassmaker Riedel, whose now celebrated taste
tests comparing wine in "conventional" glasses with their own beautifully crafted varietal specific glasses
have won converts the world over.
Riedel has staked its reputation on the effect the very specific shape of the glass can have on the wine,
from the way the bowl enhances the aroma, to the pitch or angle at which the stream of liquid hits the
palate (as well as on its superlative crystal). But now along comes German glass maker, Eisch, whose
company dates from 1946. Over the years we've seen all kinds of gizmos that claim to make wine more
approachable through vaunted science, including one system that sold a special spigott, which supposedly
ionized the molecules to make the wine taste more aged and softer. We weren't convinced.
No surprise, then, that we approached the newly arrived Eisch trademarked Breathable Glass with at least
a little skepticism, as we prepared to blind taste a number of wines to see how they'd evolve when
poured side by side in the Breathable and conventional glass (made also by Eisch) of almost precisely the
same shape and size.
The degree to which wines reacted varied. But, interestingly enough, there was almost always a
discernible difference. Younger, more tannic reds especially did open up more noticeably after four
minutes in the Breathable Glass, and tended to show more rounded, less aggressive qualities on the
palate. Even as time went on, the difference remained discernible. Also, some higher acid whites came
across as fuller and more generous in style.
Perhaps for obvious reasons, Eisch doesn't reveal the secret behind its lead-free crystal Breathable Glass.
And Riedel? Not impressed.
The company just launched a lawsuit against Eisch's use of the term "Breathable," claiming it turned
down the chance to buy the technology but was unimpressed with controlled tests. Although Eisch insists
there's no physical difference between the two glasses, wine guru Robert Parker (who had conducted his
own evaluation) has mused that the Breathable Glass might be made of more porous crystal, with tiny air
holes that accelerate the aeration.
Our tests, though hardly scientific, were interesting. While the wines we played with were clean and well
made, not all necessarily displayed the same characteristics in rapid transition. We also happen to like a
fair degree of tannin and acidity in our reds, and acidity in whites, especially with food. In at least one
instance, where the "breathable" red obviously gained in approachability and emphasized its sweeter
berry fruit, it seemed to fade in complexity.
It also pays to remember that modern winemaking already uses many techniques (including microoxygenation)
to make wines more approachable right out of the bottle.
Our final taste test we kept for a bottle of 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau, a wine, if any, that could surely
benefit from even a modicum of change. No such luck. Then again, maybe we should have tried the
purpose-made Riedel Beaujolais Nouveau 4400/15. Maybe not.
The verdict? Hey, if you're into wine, you should give the Breathable Glass a whirl, or rather not. Just let
the glasses sit there and do their thing. Quite likely you too will be surprised.
Oh, and we forgot to mention that the slightly more solid Eisch glasses are also beautifully made, a little
less pricey than their Riedel equivalent, and, even more beautifully, dishwasher safe.
Wine critic Gord Stimmell's holiday suggestions
The art of entertaining. Compliments of the LCBO
