Working glasses
Wine glasses are growing bigger, stems are getting taller, and anything "bog-standard" is definitely out. These were just some of the trends to emerge from discussions with a selection of hotels and restaurants - findings that are backed up by the major manufacturers and distributors which supply the trade.
After decades of conformity, when the 6oz Paris goblet reigned supreme, there has been an explosion of different styles. "Nowadays, everyone is looking for something different," says Troy Smith, of Pages, a leading one-stop-shop supplier of everything from aprons to woks. "It is exactly what's happened with china and cutlery. For half a century there were 10 common patterns - now you can't sell them."
This desire for individuality has also struck James Marrey, of Marrey Tableware in Hertfordshire. "I find people's attitudes to glassware quite diverse, but I'm impressed by those with a clear sense of vision who will choose glasses that are not run-of-the-mill, whether they cost 60p or £6," he says. As an example, he cites Eric Garnier, general director of the Bank Group, who selected an oversized goblet from Royal Leerdam in Holland, which Marrey imports specially for him. Though each glass costs less than £1, customer reaction has been very positive, apparently.
That wine glasses can add a point of difference is a fact recognised by Robert Gough, owner and general manager of the Marlborough hotel in Ipswich, Suffolk, who swears by the oversized Schott glasses he bought four years ago. "I think it's an area that independents can score on over the larger groups, who may be tied to certain suppliers" - or, one could add, where decisions on which glasses to buy are left to some anonymous bean-counter at head office who probably doesn't drink wine anyway.
Because production runs will never rival the billions of identikit glasses pumped out by J&G Durand and others in the past, prices may have risen. And yet, for as little as £1.50 a stem, the choice and quality of glasses now available has never been greater. Beyond that, one can contemplate hand-blown crystal, badging - having one's logo transposed on to the glass - or even commissioning a range of one's very own glassware.
Badging has become increasingly popular with the likes of the Tower in Edinburgh and Harvey Nichols in London, which wish to stamp their own personality on their restaurant and reinforce the sense of being a brand.
At Nazeing Glass, the hand-blown bespoke specialists in Hertfordshire, prices start at 56p a glass for a minimum of 500, after a set-up fee of £50.
John Jenkins, one of the top importers, also offers badging and, like Nazeing, designs exclusive ranges for a minimum run of 600 glasses, which can be drawn on as needed from the company's warehouse in Sussex.
Top of the range comes Riedel's Sommeliers series, imported by Michael Johnson, with trade prices from £15 to £22 per stem. Despite the name, few restaurateurs seem tempted, and for Caroline Hallam, joint owner of Harry's Place in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the idea of having 33 glasses, one for each grape variety, is too precious for words. "After all, our customers should be enjoying the wine, not analysing it." The firm's fighting brand within the restaurant trade remains its Vinum range, priced at £5-£7 a glass.
Depending on the size of order, and perhaps who you are, all kinds of deals can be struck. Silvano Giraldin, general manager of London restaurant Le Gavroche, feels it is a matter of conscience that good wine should be served in good glasses, and says: "We use a lot of Riedel, like the majority of the catering trade. We wanted the best we could afford, and they offered us a fantastic deal."
With its message that the shape of the glass is responsible for the balance and harmony of flavours in the wine, the firm has won fans among top-class restaurants such as the Fat Duck at Bray, and the Square and 1837 in London. Equally flattering, though less welcome as far as Riedel is concerned, have been the spate of similar-shaped glasses - or shameless copies as Riedel sees it.
Its competitors say that no one has an exclusive right to the large tulip shape that has become so fashionable, and in any case Riedel's glasses are simply not made to withstand the rigours of the restaurant. "If I could choose any glass in the world it would be Riedel, but with all the breakages, they're just not practical," says Andrew Chantrell, general manager at Congham Hall hotel in Norfolk, who uses Schott. At the Chester Grosvenor, which has Vinum, sommelier Dean Hodge disagrees. "I think they're actually quite strong and surprisingly hard-wearing, especially if you train the staff how to clean them - first the bowl and then the stem."
The fear of breaking glass clearly stops many hotels and restaurants from trading up, but whether it's exaggerated is hard to say. One US report puts the level of breakages at only 6% a year, to which Mark Rowley, development manager at the Witchery in Edinburgh, retorts: "If only!" In Bristol, Markwicks restaurant says it would be far too frightened to work out any percentage; while at Le Gavroche, Giraldin is resigned. "It's inevitable - glasses were made to be broken." Not a view shared by Gough, who feels that choosing glasses is a balancing act between attractiveness and robustness.
Over in Glasgow, Sandra Liddell, personal assistant to the managing director of the Eurasia restaurant, is convinced that staff take more care with fine glasses possibly because the clip round the ear would be all the harder. If the converse is true, then buying cheap glasses could be something of a false economy.
For busy venues and big banquets, where glasses are whisked in and out on crowded trays, breakages are bound to be spectacular. One option is toughened glass, which costs a few pence more, but is becoming increasingly refined from its prototype - a chunky, fat-lipped goblet that would bounce on all but concrete. And glasses with drawn stems, like the widely available Michelangelo range from John Artis, are also slightly stronger.
The red Bordeaux glasses at Eurasia can hold more than half-a-pint if filled to the brim; but, with just 175cl of wine, "It's kind of sexy and sumptuous, that idea of swirling it around in a big glass," says Liddell. "Who knows? It might persuade some to have that other bottle."
This idea that bigger glasses encourage people to drink more and perhaps trade up is hard to prove - most of the restaurateurs I spoke to were sceptical. But the belief that beautiful glasses with generous bowls and fine rims enhance the wine and the whole ambience of the restaurant is hard to deny. As Richard McKenzie-Ross, assistant manager of Michael's Nook hotel in Cumbria, put it: "We try and wow people from the word go. Sometimes they comment on the glasses, sometimes on the whole effect."
