Zalto Denk' Art: Next-Level Glassware

We are not ones to fetishize glassware: This is the exception.

Good glasses can certainly improve the expression of a wine, but for us, well, the truth is in the bottle, not the glass.

These glasses, however, are on another level.

The wine glasses in Zalto's Denk' Art series are stemware as art. These glasses are so delicate, so fine— zero-gravity-level fine — that they feel as if they might float upward if you let them go.

With the holidays just around the corner, Zaltos make the perfect gift for the most discerning people on your list.

Click here for more photos.

They are most definitely sensual — the razor thin edges of the glass, the needle-fine stem. The signature angles of the bowls are based on the "triumvirate of angles" at which the Earth tilts: 24, 48 and 72 degrees. Maybe this is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, but these are the same angles that the Romans found were ideal for shaping their amphorae.

Beautiful as they may be, these glasses are more than just a pretty vessel: They can truly elevate wine, with each carefully crafted shape built to accentuate the elements of the wine inside. There's a reason why these are the glasses safely tucked away above everyone's desks here at the store.

Zalto is an Austrian company, though the family and their glassblowing tradition originally hail from Venice. Every single glass in this tiny production is handcrafted and mouth-blown in the northern part of Lower Austria (in Neunagelberg, to be exact).

While their extreme delicacy may make you consider only ever drinking in a padded room, these glasses are as sturdy as they are transcendent. In fact, Zalto recommends washing them in the dishwasher rather than by hand; because the glasses are blown in one piece, they are stronger than conventional glasses, generally made from pieces connected at the top of the stem.

Today's lineup offers five glasses, a collaboration between Zalto and renowned sommelier Aldo Sohm, wine director at Le Bernardin and one of the many wine authorities who tried a Zalto and never looked back. Select one, or spring for the whole arsenal: These will elevate your wine drinking game to the next, very serious level. They also make fantastic gifts (to give or to get), because while spending upwards of $50 a glass for yourself may give you pause, you'll definitely want to receive one - or six.

That these glasses are stunning, transformative and special is so widely agreed upon at this point the only concern I have is that they get overblown, simply trendy or superfluously aesthetic. The hype is all true: These are glasses you can't help but fall in love with once you've held them.

To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Ian McFadden

Director, Fine and Rare Wines

Crush Wine & Spirits

rn rn rn rn rn rnrn