There are  few topics that start more debate than the stemware vs. non stemware wine glasses ever since Riedel came out with the stemless 'O' series three years ago. The undisputed leader of wineglasses had always gone around screaming hoarse on the virtues of the shape, thinness and why the stem was so important for swirling wine and avoiding dirty and fingerprints on the glasses while eating and avoiding warming the wine while drinking. And then they went ahead and chopped away the stems making a nice little base to rest the glass on.

The restaurants are always worried about breakages and despite the cheaper Restaurant series, welcomed the idea of less breakages. The consumers were divided about the 'Old' vs. the 'O'. Younger and casual drinkers are happier with the less fussy stemless 'O' whereas the serious drinkers still swear by the exploding bouquets released by the swirling. I remember Sanjay Menon, their distributor in India go ecstatic about their stemware and always encouraged 'Tasting by the glass' sessions where he would demonstrate the effect of swirling the glass using the stem enhancing wine aromas.

All that seems to be changing. More and more people are taking to the 'O' series. In an Article on May 15, 2004 I had written that it was perhaps a strategy by Riedel to create new market, hoping it would not displace the stemware. Two years down the line, I feel my hunch was correct.

'Our aim was never to displace the stemware market but to create a new market' says Stephane Vattepain, export Manager for Europe whom I met in VinItaly at the stand of Gaja Distribuzione, their Distributors for Italy. 'It is meant for young people for casual drinking. You may love it or hate it. But it is not a fashion line in the sense that is not going to be discontinued.'

Riedel has reasons to be optimistic. Last year 'O' series Bordeaux (standard glass) sold 913,000 pieces compared to only 885,000 of the stemware equivalent. Similarly, the 'O' series Chablis-Viognier outsold the stemware by over a 100,000 pieces. Reflecting on the possible reasons for the spurt in sales in less than three years, Stephane felt it could be also due to the lower cost. The other reason could also be that these glasses can double up as a water tumbler.' At the current price of about US $9 each, the modern version is about half the cost of the older cousin and this could be a significant reason for the expanding sales.

Wine Enthusiast, the biggest online stores in the US started selling them from the start. When I met its owner Adam Strum I had quizzed him about his views on these glasses. He had smiled and replied diplomatically, 'well, we do sell a lot of them'.