I am immensely proud of my delicate Original mouth-blown wine glass, a joint venture with designer Richard Brendon, crafted, on the basis of my more than 40 years’ experience of tasting wine, to allow any sort of wine to express itself to the max. We launched it nearly six years ago and have been delighted by how well it has been received all over the world. (You can read about the genesis of my only venture into hardware in My new glass and decanters.)
However, the craftsmanship that Richard supports in all his work costs money. And, thanks to the global pandemic and increased costs, the Original glass now costs £90 for two or £270 for a box of six.
In response to requests from the hospitality industry and those in especially busy environments, as well as those who want to buy the glasses in real quantity, we have now come up with a machine-made version of the glass, the Precision glass. It’s the same shape and size as the Original and, after selfless testing, I can report that it expresses a full range of wines’ qualities just as effectively as the Original. But it’s a little sturdier, with a slightly thicker stem and rim.
The new glass is called Precision to acknowledge both the precision with which it was made and the precision with which it communicates each wine’s character. Each Precision wine glass is identical to the last, providing the sort of consistency that only machines can achieve.
I was adamant that it should be easy to distinguish the two glasses, so Precision has a little asterisk on the base as well as the usual JR x RB logo, and the packaging looks quite different.
Both glasses are dishwasher-recommended and are designed for every single sort of wine regardless of colour, strength, sweetness and fizziness. About the Original, American wine writer Jon Bonné wrote (with zero pressure from me!), ‘I’m utterly astonished! This glass brings out the best qualities in any wine I’ve poured, providing a wonderful clarity of flavor’.
The equally expressive Precision glass is being launched today at £48 for a handsome box of two, £90 for four.
We have already had an enthusiastic response from restaurateurs on each side of the Atlantic and from Sensible Wine Services, who will add Precision glasses to the Original glasses they already rent out, adding a touch of luxury to professional tastings, wine dinners and larger gatherings.
Wherever you are in the world, you can order both the Original and the Precision glasses direct from Richard Brendon, or contact the following distributors.
UK Liberty Wines or Richard Brendon
US Richard Brendon or hospitality reps: NY Metro/DC/PA/MD, J Fagan Hospitality; FL, Brown South; TX/OK, Atlas Hospitality
Norway Symposium Wines
Denmark Vinho
Spain CVNE/Montenegro
Portugal Rocim
Japan Mottox
Taiwan Necoichi Enterprise
New Zealand Atelier Nash
Mexico Vinos Enteros
The complete Jancis Robinson Collection still includes a stemless version of the Original wine glass, a decanter specially designed for young wine (providing maximum aeration) and another, narrower, stoppered version carefully designed for mature wines. See the full collection below.
