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Riedel – 265 years and 11 generations of immaculate glass art
If you are a fan of wine or a lover of glassware you will be delighted to read the story behind Riedel brand. You will soon discover that this is not only the story of the brand itself but also of glass craftsmanship and wine glasses so make sure you know it before you set the table for your dinner with friends, with wine and some beautiful wine glasses from Riedel.
The history of Riedel family, the history of glass making
The history of the Riedel company was started by Johann Christoph Riedel, the "Great grandfather Riedel (born in 1673) who travelled around Europe as a glass merchant. His grandson Johann Leopold Riedel in 1756 had set up the first entrepreneurial glassworks in Bohemia thus establishing the tradition of glass-making in the family. Anton Leopold Riedel (1761-1821) expanded the business and transformed the product range so that it no longer focused on plate glass, but much more on luxury articles. His son Franz Xaver Anton Riedel (1786-1844) was a famous engraver and glass cutter (and his works are highly sought after at auctions today) and he was the first to melt different colours of glass: two fluorescent colours - yellow and green. Further generations of the Riedel family developed the business. Still, it was Walter Riedel (1895 - 1974) who represents both the Bohemian past of the company and the start of a new future in Austria.
In 1956 the new Riedel story was started up in Kufstein, Austria where (with the support of the Swarovski family), Walter Riedel took over the ailing Tirol glassworks. A hand-blown glass production firm - as before in Bohemia - was established.
Riedel’s wine story
Claus Josef Riedel (1925 - 2004) was a great visionary who invented the wine-friendly wine glass. He was the first in the history of glass who could determine the interplay between form, size and rim diameter of glass for the optimal enjoyment of wine. His glasses had a long stem and smooth, undecorated, thin-blown bowls and in the 1950s and 1960s were awarded numerous design prizes. This defined him as the "father of the modern wine glass".
The first line dedicated to wine enjoyment - known all across the world today under the name Sommeliers – was introduced in 1973 making Riedel company an unquestionable leader in the world of glassware manufacturers. In 1986 with history’s first machine-made glass, RIEDEL started to develop the philosophy of functional wine glass, which became affordable and well-known worldwide. Georg Riedel, born in 1949 further developed the company by taking over Nachtmann, the German company in 2004, and today Riedel with a 97% export rate, is the world leader in the production of functional glasses.
Riedel current product offer and design
Georg Riedel strongly believes that a finely tuned glass shape enhances the perception of all aromatic beverages and he has shaped many functional glasses for different types of alcohol, each designed to enhance the pleasure of drinking particular beverages.
However, he continues to push the boundaries of the conventional shapes of the glasses and carafes, offering Riedel's customers exceptional sets of glasses with different, elegant and sophisticated shapes. The striking design of different collections of wine glasses and other types of glasses as well as wine decanters is a hallmark of the brand.
In fact, the shapes of the wine carafes by Riedel are so eye-catching that they were featured in the 2022 Netflix blockbuster "Glass Onion"!