Zalto Denk’Art: Fine Tuned Crystal Glasses
The Austrian Zalto family has been making mouth-blown glass for six generations. The Denk’Art glasses are named after Father Hans Denk who has spent decades studying and tasting wines and advised Zalto in the design of wine glass bowls to bring out the best qualities of each wine type. Each glass is very light with delicate rims and stems so thin they seem to disappear. Winemonger, the US importer of Zalto glasses sent us samples to review. We love the elegance of these glasses and how they express the best features of each wine.
Our evaluation of these glasses coincided with a series of harpsichord concerts sponsored by Capriccio Baroque at the French Embassy in Washington DC, so our evaluation was carried out while one of the world’s foremost harpsichordists, Frenchman Pierre Hantaï, was preparing for his concerts. He also enjoyed wines served in Zalto glasses. Hence, the pairing below of several glasses with Capriccio Baroque’s harpsichords. We didn’t actually try to pair specific composers or compositions with glasses and wines, although we have explored synthesia of wine and harpsichord music in the past.
Champagne
We tasted Ruinart Champagne in Zalto’s tulip-shaped, hand-blown crystal glass. The glass is very light and elegant, weighing almost nothing and lending an ethereal quality to the already diaphanous Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. It’s narrow with a deep base, giving a lively focus to the fine bubbles of the Ruinart while providing more aromatic expression than does the traditional flute.
Balance
The Zalto Denk’Art glass was designed to emphasize balance. We tasted Vazisubani Kisi Qvevri served in a Zalto Denk’Art Balance glass with Baroque music from the William Dowd Ruckers Ravalement harpsichord commissioned by John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet in 1972. The Zalto glass brings out the complex, aromas of honeycomb, dried orange and apricot aromas of this delicious Georgian wine from Kakheti made in qvevri with skin contact.
Bordeaux
Good
The Zalto Denk’Art Bordeaux glass is designed for firmly structured, concentrated red wines. We tried this glass with the DAOU Vineyards Soul of a Lion Cabernet Sauvignon and Baroque music from the after-Fleischer harpsichord built by renowned English recording artist and early keyboard player & builder Colin Booth. Fleischer built the original in the 17th century. The Zalto Bordeaux glass lends super focus to the dark fruit, violets and baking spice bouquet of the wine, made from mountain top vineyards in the Adelaida Hills district of Paso Robles.
Universal
The Zalto Denk-Art Universal is designed to be a glass that can be used with a wide range of wines and wine styles. A classic design, feather light and elegant, with straight edges rising from the bottom of the bowl to narrower top, this glass is beautiful in appearance, a joy to hold, and very pleasurable to drink from. It’s the glass to have if one’s cabinet space and budget does not allow for a set of glasses fine tuned to specific wine styles.
Burgundy
The Zalto Denk’Art Burgundy glass is designed for wines with complex, delicate aromas and flavors. We tried it with the Gary Farrell Fort Ross Seaview Pinot Noir and Baroque music from the after-Zell harpsichord built by Colin Booth. Zell built the original in the 17th century. The harpsichord was previously the concert and recording instrument of Colin Tilney. The Zalto Burgundy glass emphasizes the black cherry and savory underbrush and mineral like notes of the wine, made from high altitude vineyards overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the far west Sonoma coast.
Sweet Wine
The Zalto Denk’Art Sweet Wine glass was designed to accentuate the acidity in sweet wines, resulting in a balanced wine that is mouthwatering in character. We tried the Sweet Wine glass with an older vintage of Vin Santo del Chianti Classico from Isle e Olena. The wine was balanced with good freshness despite its age.
Which Glasses to Buy?
Which Zalto glasses to purchase depends on your tastes in wine. You should buy the glasses that best express the wines you prefer. However, the Universal glass is a no-brainer. It is an excellent and elegant all-purpose wine glass that works well with almost any wine. After that, the Bordeaux glass is a winner. It may be designed for big reds, but it also works very well with lighter reds. If I were to pick a third glass, it would be a tie between the Balance and the Champagne glass. The Balance glass works well with a variety of wines, from skin contact whites to sweet wines. It does superbly with Madeira, for example [see photo]. We also find it to excel as a tasting glass. While the Champagne glass is superb with Champagne, it also works as a sweet wine glass.
Note: All photos are credited to DRWinkler except the two photos of individual glasses which are from Zalto/Winemonger.
