Baccarat is the renowned maker of luxury crystal glassware. The French glassmaker is always striving to design a wine glass that enhances the experience of drinking wine. They do regular research and development to achieve the perfect balance between alcohol and the grape. Their new glass has a design that hopes to revolutionize the wine drinking experience. The glass has a tulip shape and a flat wide base. The chimney is vertical that prevents the alcohol from overpowering the aroma of wine when the glass is swirled. There is a scientific basis to the design and has been developed to retain the subtlety in the vintages.
The large scale swirling movement of the wine glass oxidizes the wine and burns off the delicate aromas. This new design prevents, or definitely limits the process. The glass was launched in France earlier this year and was launched in China and Hong Kong last month. François Mainetti, the glass maker’s General Manager for Greater China during the launch event explained the revolutionary design of the glass was meant to reveal the wine. He likened the balance between alcohol and the aroma to yin and yang in Chinese philosophy. He used the simile to stress the importance of the balance. Taking the simile forward he explained that it is like a balance between fire and water.
He said the balance between the alcohol and the aroma in wine is as important as yin and yang in Chinese philosophy. In a way, alcohol and aroma represent fire and water and it is not easy to create a balance between the two. The quick launch of the new glass in the Greater China was necessitated by the explosive growth in wine sales in China in the recent years. China has jumped several places to dislodge Britain as the fifth largest wine consuming country. The growth was triggered by the Hong Kong government’s decision in 2008 to drop wine import duties. Mainetti believes that there is a growing passion for wine in China and the customers would happily pay the asking price of HK$900 ($116) for the glass.
Via: news.yahoo, heraldsun
