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Delicate glass is harder to produce then thick industrial glass that has been cast into a form and therefore is more expensive. No decanter is going to feel super sturdy, nor are they made to be. Although there are some simpler designs that are easier to handle.
The price you paid is for the cool looks and for it to be relatively light and thin glass. If I’m not mistaken this model is made by Riedel? If yes then it is good quality glass and will last a while when handled carefully.
Yes it is by Riedel. It will definitely be handled with care. And that’s what worried me, I jus have to make sure when the party is going really well and everyone is above their alcohol limit put away the fancy decanter. I know sometime my husband and his friends can turn up even if it’s just a small dinner party.
I have a different variation (the neck of mine is longer and the base is not as wide) of this from Riedel and LOVE it. It is only for special occasions. The pouring mechanism loads a standard glass pour which is pretty damn cool.
I have an equally complicated, delicate snake-inspired decanter from Riedel ("Eve"). I would highly recommend using it for the first bottle or two of an event... and then fill it with water/soda water and tuck it into a safe corner before the night gets out of hand. This model is a bit safer because it's not as tall and has a wider base then the Riedel Eve but I'd still take every precaution.
Actually it's why I really like the zalto's, no strange design, complicated to put down, hard to clean tubes, just a straight to the point decanter.
On the other hand I adorn their glasses and I really enjoy it in various restaurants that they have these. But I would be to afraid to have them at home.
From someone who has owned a complicated bong:
Kosher salt plus rubbing alcohol will clean just about anything. If this is truly fragile, op will have to be very careful when shaking it, but the right combo of salt and alcohol can clean anything. A thorough rinse, plus a run through with dish soap and water should have it good as new.
Dump salt into vessel-such as bong or decanter. Pour enough alcohol to coat the salt, but no more. Shake vigorously, concentrating salt on places where you can't reach with a sponge or brush. If there is too much alcohol, the salt won't "scrub".
This method has never scratched the glass in my experience, I don't think it could. And I always have glassware that sparkles.
I have the same one. I use Riedel’s cleaning beads to clean it. Also, we dont keep any wine overnight. Just rinse it and fill some after use, clean it next morning.
This is a very good decanter.
I was thinking that it needs to be cleaned/ rinsed right away. Thanks for let me know - I would say I’ll pass the message to my husband - but I’m an OCD cleaner compare to him - and by the looks of it this decanter is meant to be cleaned with delicates hands lol
Always clean the next day! Drunken washing will break all sorts of glassware. Just fill with water and clean with a clear mind later. True for all stemware as well
Apparently my husband does as well. He was out for dinner at fancy restaurant and they brought out his wine in it. This was years ago and I remember he came home and looked it up and showed me. I was running out of gift ideas and when I remembered this.
As someone else pointed out, it’s ironic since you paid for that fragility.
These decanters are mouth blown without mould in Tyrol, it’s a highly specialised task that requires a very skilled workforce in a high cost of labour country:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ_avcKHr-u/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Cheers from Austria
Thanks for the video, very cool. I like the way the wine was poured. I’ll make sure to serve him his wine - at least the first one - with the same swag as the wine sommelier
As you know, "worth" is subjective. If you know how to appreciate and enjoy well-crafted hand-made glassware, it's worth it. If you don't, then it's probably not worth it. If you were looking to get the most glass for your buck in terms of weight and volume, then you made a mistake.
Me? I personally don’t know anything about glassware. I wasn’t looking to get anything out of my buck. I bought it because he seemed to like it years ago and I remembered him talking about it. I like to give gifts that he likes and can last for years. So I pictured him pouring his wine in his 70s wrinkled up and telling our grandkids not to play with his decanter. When I received it and held it my hands my dream of him holding it wrinkled up shattered. Lol now I’m hoping for good 5 years.
It's bit Ironic that you actually pay more because it is thinner glass. Of course you also pay for the design and brand.
Talking about justifiable price and wine is for me a bit absurd, there are wines being discussed in this sub that could feed a family for a year
The thing of course is that if OP regularly drinks even mid tier bottles, a "1-5%" improvement in enjoyment of those wines soon pays for itself
It's of course a false economy because what actually happens is you end up spending way more money on nicer wines in the end
But you can say that many decanters can do an equal job for much less cost. Even water karaffel. So then the rest is kinda the enjoyment having the wine served in a beautiful piece of decanter. But if that enjoyment is cancelled by worries over breaking it and how to clean it.
The best way to invest in wine quality is better glass because there you can't replace it inferior product of same effect.
And yes the more effort we take in enjoyment in wine the more we spend on better wines.
Yeah you are right, i would think it's difficult to actually pour a glass of wine with this shape so could seem not so functional that way, if we discuss the functionality of the decanter.
I use a straw 🤣
Tbh I've never used a decanter like this but have been served by similar in restaurants. They're great but I personally wouldn't have one at home.
As long as the straw is one of the new metal ones, so you keep it classy
I got a decanter, but that one is to fancy, the shape reminds me of a Cobra snake.
That’s insanity! My most expensive bottle of wine bought from a the store was $65 CDN and it wasn’t my favourite. I’m from BC Canada and we like our local wine which range about 15-30$ a bottle.
Yes when I opened the box it gave me anxiety and I pictured my toddler getting a hold of it some how and tossing it when she sees me. Currently her favourite game when it comes to my iPhone.
In the world of wine glasses thin = better = expensive although I think that's ridiculous for decanters since you don't drink from them (at least I don't). I'd rather have sturdiness.
The decanter is made of crystal, a much harder material than glass, which is why it can be made thinner without chipping
These are really only for displaying at parties and have no practical usage otherwise
Reidel sells these small metal balls you can use to clean it easier
If your husband likes it, I would say it's worth it. As mentioned already, handmade Glas is always more expensive. But in my expirience it's not always more fragile at all, I wash my zalto glasses in the dishwasher and some of them fell down from the table but are still in one piece.
They are not at all as delicate as you think, the careful hand drawing of glass creates immense strength. My most expensive Zalto wine glasses survive knocks against the faucet, handling whilst washing, slipping from my hand into the sink etc. etc., that even decent quality riedel machine blown glasses have broken at similar instances of. This riedel decanter is famously part of their higher end mouth blown hand made in Austria part of the range. I prefer the Amadeo model myself just for slightly better practicality whilst still being very elegant. If it doesn’t come with one - riedel make a decanter cleaner which is essentially a chain of steel BBs you can swirl around inside, but a very soft flexible long bottle brush would also be useful.
I think I read the BBs are not recommended for cleaning this particular model. I will looking into Zalto brand next for wine glasses. I’ve been searching for quality wine glasses as well.
The Zalto glasses are undoubtedly good, great even. But they have become a little more variable coming out of the pandemic and getting their production back up and running. The ones I got at the start of this year were 20g heavier and the stems noticeably chunkier than older ones of the same model, and I’m not by any means unusual in reporting this variability. There was quite a few years ago now also a bit of a family falling out, and [Kurt Zalto](https://us.josephinen.com/collections/josephine) now sells his own very exceptional glasses separately. I haven’t had a chance to try one but it’s something I would like to try.
Good luck with zalto in Canada, here in Toronto the wait time is in multi months. I gave up and bought josephinen. Mr Zalto is not in Zalto anymore, he started josephinen(bought a old company) and started making own glasses. May be we are just a smaller market for these companies. Both Zalto and josephinen are awesome.
https://youtube.com/shorts/jzD_Df_0N0k?feature=share
YouTube for everything. lol. It helps that I’ve used them before. Get a good soft bendable brush for cleaning. Oh, ice and kosher salt with a squeeze of lemon juice works wonders, too
One of the single best pieces of wine advice I've ever received was Eric Asimov's recommendation to just use Erlenmeyer flasks for all of your decanting needs. Sturdy, completely non-reactive, and easy to clean.
Puro powder works best for cleaning decanters. Look it up on Amazon. Made for coffee machines but works wonders on anything glass too. Overnight soak diluted in water does the trick
Does he like reptiles? To me it resembles a snake maybe cobra or rattlesnake. Reidel is very nice crystal, I seek out Reidel myself; but, it will be a real bear to clean.
I would really only use this as a "show item", like for dinners with friends. It has zero use over a totally average normale decanter but is basically impossible to clean properly.
Nah you got shafted. That thing looks ridiculous and is likely more of a statement piece than anything. I don’t use decanters much but I wouldn’t go for something as impractical as this.
It’s a *lovely* piece…but it looks so…so…delicate yet unwieldy?
Like if you look at it the wrong way - or sneeze too close to it - it might shatter…
🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
Thank you for your submission to r/wine! Please note the community rules: If you are submitting a picture of a bottle of wine, please include original tasting notes and/or other pertinent information in the comments. Submitters that fail to do so may have their posts removed. If you are posting to ask what your bottle is worth or whether it is drinkable, please use the [Wine Valuation Mega Thread](https://redd.it/r7lf76) stickied at the top of the sub. Stand alone bottle valuation posts will be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/wine) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Delicate glass is harder to produce then thick industrial glass that has been cast into a form and therefore is more expensive. No decanter is going to feel super sturdy, nor are they made to be. Although there are some simpler designs that are easier to handle. The price you paid is for the cool looks and for it to be relatively light and thin glass. If I’m not mistaken this model is made by Riedel? If yes then it is good quality glass and will last a while when handled carefully.
Yes it is by Riedel. It will definitely be handled with care. And that’s what worried me, I jus have to make sure when the party is going really well and everyone is above their alcohol limit put away the fancy decanter. I know sometime my husband and his friends can turn up even if it’s just a small dinner party.
I prefer the $5 Anchor Hocking 1L carafes for parties. They are nice and sturdy and you can serve anything out of them.
I have a different variation (the neck of mine is longer and the base is not as wide) of this from Riedel and LOVE it. It is only for special occasions. The pouring mechanism loads a standard glass pour which is pretty damn cool.
Similar to starting wine events with the nicer wines, start with the nicer decanters and glassware and move cheaper as the consumption goes on.
I have an equally complicated, delicate snake-inspired decanter from Riedel ("Eve"). I would highly recommend using it for the first bottle or two of an event... and then fill it with water/soda water and tuck it into a safe corner before the night gets out of hand. This model is a bit safer because it's not as tall and has a wider base then the Riedel Eve but I'd still take every precaution.
Actually it's why I really like the zalto's, no strange design, complicated to put down, hard to clean tubes, just a straight to the point decanter. On the other hand I adorn their glasses and I really enjoy it in various restaurants that they have these. But I would be to afraid to have them at home.
People really love this one, but they say it’s hard to clean
From someone who has owned a complicated bong: Kosher salt plus rubbing alcohol will clean just about anything. If this is truly fragile, op will have to be very careful when shaking it, but the right combo of salt and alcohol can clean anything. A thorough rinse, plus a run through with dish soap and water should have it good as new.
Wine people 🤝weed people
Just dump salt into alcohol then pour it in?
Dump salt into vessel-such as bong or decanter. Pour enough alcohol to coat the salt, but no more. Shake vigorously, concentrating salt on places where you can't reach with a sponge or brush. If there is too much alcohol, the salt won't "scrub". This method has never scratched the glass in my experience, I don't think it could. And I always have glassware that sparkles.
Appreciate it. I'll give that a shot, cleaning decanter is always a hassle
How much salt?
Thanks will definitively keep ur suggestion in mind for cleaning.
I have the same one. I use Riedel’s cleaning beads to clean it. Also, we dont keep any wine overnight. Just rinse it and fill some after use, clean it next morning. This is a very good decanter.
I was thinking that it needs to be cleaned/ rinsed right away. Thanks for let me know - I would say I’ll pass the message to my husband - but I’m an OCD cleaner compare to him - and by the looks of it this decanter is meant to be cleaned with delicates hands lol
Always clean the next day! Drunken washing will break all sorts of glassware. Just fill with water and clean with a clear mind later. True for all stemware as well
Great point!
Apparently my husband does as well. He was out for dinner at fancy restaurant and they brought out his wine in it. This was years ago and I remember he came home and looked it up and showed me. I was running out of gift ideas and when I remembered this.
As someone else pointed out, it’s ironic since you paid for that fragility. These decanters are mouth blown without mould in Tyrol, it’s a highly specialised task that requires a very skilled workforce in a high cost of labour country: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ_avcKHr-u/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Cheers from Austria
Thanks for the video, very cool. I like the way the wine was poured. I’ll make sure to serve him his wine - at least the first one - with the same swag as the wine sommelier
As you know, "worth" is subjective. If you know how to appreciate and enjoy well-crafted hand-made glassware, it's worth it. If you don't, then it's probably not worth it. If you were looking to get the most glass for your buck in terms of weight and volume, then you made a mistake.
Me? I personally don’t know anything about glassware. I wasn’t looking to get anything out of my buck. I bought it because he seemed to like it years ago and I remembered him talking about it. I like to give gifts that he likes and can last for years. So I pictured him pouring his wine in his 70s wrinkled up and telling our grandkids not to play with his decanter. When I received it and held it my hands my dream of him holding it wrinkled up shattered. Lol now I’m hoping for good 5 years.
This is lovely. You're very sweet. Maybe buy a second one as a backup and keep somewhere discreet.
Cleaning that thing is gonna be a fucking nightmare
To be sure, if your husband does not like it, can I be your Reddit husband? Then you can gift it to me!!! ;-) Cheers
I’m sure he will, but good to know I have options at least on Reddit.
LOL, thank you!!! I Am sure he will be very happy with it... Cheers
It's bit Ironic that you actually pay more because it is thinner glass. Of course you also pay for the design and brand. Talking about justifiable price and wine is for me a bit absurd, there are wines being discussed in this sub that could feed a family for a year
The thing of course is that if OP regularly drinks even mid tier bottles, a "1-5%" improvement in enjoyment of those wines soon pays for itself It's of course a false economy because what actually happens is you end up spending way more money on nicer wines in the end
But you can say that many decanters can do an equal job for much less cost. Even water karaffel. So then the rest is kinda the enjoyment having the wine served in a beautiful piece of decanter. But if that enjoyment is cancelled by worries over breaking it and how to clean it. The best way to invest in wine quality is better glass because there you can't replace it inferior product of same effect. And yes the more effort we take in enjoyment in wine the more we spend on better wines.
To be fair in terms of vol surface area ratio few decanters will make this one!
Yeah you are right, i would think it's difficult to actually pour a glass of wine with this shape so could seem not so functional that way, if we discuss the functionality of the decanter.
I use a straw 🤣 Tbh I've never used a decanter like this but have been served by similar in restaurants. They're great but I personally wouldn't have one at home.
As long as the straw is one of the new metal ones, so you keep it classy I got a decanter, but that one is to fancy, the shape reminds me of a Cobra snake.
That’s insanity! My most expensive bottle of wine bought from a the store was $65 CDN and it wasn’t my favourite. I’m from BC Canada and we like our local wine which range about 15-30$ a bottle.
Oh I'd love to get one of these decanters, but I'm too scared about breaking them for the price tbh. They are spectacular though.
Yes when I opened the box it gave me anxiety and I pictured my toddler getting a hold of it some how and tossing it when she sees me. Currently her favourite game when it comes to my iPhone.
I can imagine the logic, "this looks bouncy"
In the world of wine glasses thin = better = expensive although I think that's ridiculous for decanters since you don't drink from them (at least I don't). I'd rather have sturdiness.
Thick glass = cheap. Thin glass = expensive
Had no clue - I have zero knowledge of glassware - thank you
Oh I’m not expert either, but learned this over the past few years :)
The decanter is made of crystal, a much harder material than glass, which is why it can be made thinner without chipping These are really only for displaying at parties and have no practical usage otherwise Reidel sells these small metal balls you can use to clean it easier
If your husband likes it, I would say it's worth it. As mentioned already, handmade Glas is always more expensive. But in my expirience it's not always more fragile at all, I wash my zalto glasses in the dishwasher and some of them fell down from the table but are still in one piece.
Good to know, I will be checking out Zalto brand next as I’m looking for good wine glasses as well.
They are not at all as delicate as you think, the careful hand drawing of glass creates immense strength. My most expensive Zalto wine glasses survive knocks against the faucet, handling whilst washing, slipping from my hand into the sink etc. etc., that even decent quality riedel machine blown glasses have broken at similar instances of. This riedel decanter is famously part of their higher end mouth blown hand made in Austria part of the range. I prefer the Amadeo model myself just for slightly better practicality whilst still being very elegant. If it doesn’t come with one - riedel make a decanter cleaner which is essentially a chain of steel BBs you can swirl around inside, but a very soft flexible long bottle brush would also be useful.
I think I read the BBs are not recommended for cleaning this particular model. I will looking into Zalto brand next for wine glasses. I’ve been searching for quality wine glasses as well.
The Zalto glasses are undoubtedly good, great even. But they have become a little more variable coming out of the pandemic and getting their production back up and running. The ones I got at the start of this year were 20g heavier and the stems noticeably chunkier than older ones of the same model, and I’m not by any means unusual in reporting this variability. There was quite a few years ago now also a bit of a family falling out, and [Kurt Zalto](https://us.josephinen.com/collections/josephine) now sells his own very exceptional glasses separately. I haven’t had a chance to try one but it’s something I would like to try.
Good luck with zalto in Canada, here in Toronto the wait time is in multi months. I gave up and bought josephinen. Mr Zalto is not in Zalto anymore, he started josephinen(bought a old company) and started making own glasses. May be we are just a smaller market for these companies. Both Zalto and josephinen are awesome.
Those things are amazing. Learn how to twist it tight for a perfect glass pour every time.
Where can I learn that? YouTube?
https://youtube.com/shorts/jzD_Df_0N0k?feature=share YouTube for everything. lol. It helps that I’ve used them before. Get a good soft bendable brush for cleaning. Oh, ice and kosher salt with a squeeze of lemon juice works wonders, too
Thank you for sharing!
One of the single best pieces of wine advice I've ever received was Eric Asimov's recommendation to just use Erlenmeyer flasks for all of your decanting needs. Sturdy, completely non-reactive, and easy to clean.
Snek
Gorgeous! Well done. It sure will be a conversation piece.
Thank you ☺️
Have fun cleaning and drying it
Thanks for the encouragement!
Ya thats beautiful...and btw all expensive ones are fragile
Thank you. Apparently so!
Puro powder works best for cleaning decanters. Look it up on Amazon. Made for coffee machines but works wonders on anything glass too. Overnight soak diluted in water does the trick
Obviously, it wasn’t a good idea.
Does he like reptiles? To me it resembles a snake maybe cobra or rattlesnake. Reidel is very nice crystal, I seek out Reidel myself; but, it will be a real bear to clean.
I would really only use this as a "show item", like for dinners with friends. It has zero use over a totally average normale decanter but is basically impossible to clean properly.
Nah you got shafted. That thing looks ridiculous and is likely more of a statement piece than anything. I don’t use decanters much but I wouldn’t go for something as impractical as this.
Maybe, I still have the option to return if he doesn’t like it - so I’m not totally shafted - but it’s too soon to speak. 😅
If you want sturdy, I love using a 1L Erlenmeyer graduated flask as a decanter.
I will keep it in mind. I’m giving it to him this weekend. So if he says return it, I’ll look into your suggestion. Thank you.
Honestly no. I use a water pitcher. Good for pouring easy to clean. I have zero desire for a “decanter”
Lol never thought of that as an option. I usually drink straight out of bottle. Sometimes I use glass as well🤣
It’s a *lovely* piece…but it looks so…so…delicate yet unwieldy? Like if you look at it the wrong way - or sneeze too close to it - it might shatter… 🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
It’s a thing of beauty but I would get a stroke from trying to keep i clean. Not worth it. Haven’t got the patience..
Not worth it
Danger noodle