WHO MAKES THE BEST WINE GLASSES?

From Worldometer (new deaths yesterday):

        DAY  USA  WORLD   Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9     1093     4732       1185        246        82

July    22     1205     7128        1293      1120       572

Aug    12     1504     6556       1242       835       130

Sept     9      1208    6222        1136      1168        82

Oct     21     1225     6849         571       703         85

Nov    11     1479     10178         564       550        60

           25     2304     12025       620       518       118

           30     1238       8291        317       482        58

Dec       1     2611     11891          697      500       109

             2     2833     12356        669      498        65

             3     2918     12660        776       570        94

             4     2718     12142         674       509      160

             8     2913     11714         796       404      183 

             9     3265    12342         848       337      142

           10     3107     12932         769       487      173

Summary:  The very worst will probably come the first two weeks of January after the holiday season.

If the U.S. Senate does not do something today, our Federal government comes to a stop at midnight.  In addition, much of the nation is awaiting that $908 billion COVID-19 pain minimization package.

From The New York Times this morning:

South Korea recorded 686 new cases on Wednesday, its highest daily total since February, and one health official there called it “our biggest ever coronavirus crisis.” In the past week, 45 U.S. states have averaged more daily cases.

Further, South Korea has experienced 782 cases/million and 11 deaths/million, versus the USA at 48,331 cases/million and 903 deaths/million.  South Korea has fewer cases/million as USA as deaths/million!!!  China?  60 cases/million and 3 deaths/million.  Belgium, Peru, Italy and Spain has more deaths/million than the U.S.  We are only #5.

TIME picked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as its People of the Year.  Previous winners have been:

• 2019:  Greta Thunberg
• 2018:  Guardians (jounalists like the assassinated Jamal Khashoggi was one)
• 2017:  The Silence Breakers (those who spoke out against sexual abuse)
• 2016:  Donald Trump (apparently he was close to being #2 this year--then again, Adolf Hitler was selected in 1938 and Joseph Stalin twice)

I've posted on them a couple of times this year, but BTS is TIME's Entertainers of the Year.  Surely, you heard of their Dynamite.  Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, has arrived, with Parasite winning the Best Picture Oscar, Samsung electronics, LG home appliances, TV dramas and outdoor shopping if you've ever been there.

My topic of the day began with my desire to find the ultimate Chardonnay glass.  But why would anyone want to pay a lot for wine glasses when plastic cups or tumblers work just as well?  Or certainly just cheap wine glasses.

Well, there is something to savoring the taste and delighting in the total experience.  The whole process enhances your life.  My sense is why not get the best if you can afford it. 

Here is one comparison of wine glasses by BestReviews.  They pick Riedel  (pronounce it REE-del) Vinum as the best of the best and Govino as best bang for the buck.  In that comparison is Schott Zweisel (shot zviso).

I will focus on Riedel and Schott Zweisel for my analysis, especially as SZ developed a new type of crystal with no lead or barium, but oxides of titanium and zirconium.  If you read my posting yesterday, almost just touching a Riedel Wine Wing Chardonnay glass easily cracks it.  SZ/'s Titan crystal is really tough.  I wouldn't pound it with a hammer, but I've dropped it on its side on a table...and it survived.  It is said to be shatterproof, and even after 3,000 domestic dishwasher cycles, remains unmarked with the same brilliance.

About Riedel, it is a glassware manufacturer based in Kufstein, Austria, and has been around since 1956.  Still managed by Georg (to the right) and Maximilian (11th generation) Riedel.  Georg is the one who supposedly designed their latest Wine Wings.  I will talk about them tomorrow.

From Wikipedia:

In 2004, Gourmet magazine reported that "Studies at major research centers in Europe and the U.S. suggest that Riedel’s claims are, scientifically, nonsense." The article cites further evidence from Yale researcher Linda Bartoshuk, saying that the "tongue map," claimed by Riedel as an important part of their research, does not exist. According to Bartoshuk, “Your brain doesn’t care where taste is coming from in your mouth... And researchers have known this for thirty years.”^[5]

If in a restaurant featuring the best cuisine, your wine will almost surely come in a Riedel glass.  You can confirm this by carefully scrutinizing the base.  

Be aware that there are different levels of Riedels.  The Sommelier grade is the highest and expensive, in the range of $100 each.  I've broken quite a few of them because they are so thin and delicate.  Then, there is the Vinum series for everyday use, still expensive at $30/glass, and other varieties in the $10 category.

If I were any younger, I'd switch from Riedel to Schott Zweisel, or Zwiesel Kristallglas AG in Zwiesel, Germany.  Founded in 1872, the company has been bought out several times.  It now has a reputation of being eco-friendly.  Their glasses sell for around $10 each.  I just ordered and received two of their Tritan Crystal Modo Stemware (15 ounces) glasses for $12 each.

As a toast you can clang those two delicate-looking SZ glasses, and you get that harmonic tone that continues for five seconds and more.  You wouldn't dare do that with those R wine wings, and only very carefully with their sommelier brands.

My favorite song #17 is September Song by Walter Huston.  Written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, it was introduced in the 1938 Broadway musical, Knickerbocker Holiday.  He played the aging governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, and the song came together in only a couple of hours to meet Huston's gruff voice and limited vocal range.  The fact that he says, I have lost one tooth and and I walk a little lame, certainly applies to me today.  Also used in the 1950 film, September Affair.  The usual cast came along, with Bing Crosby in 1943 and Frank Sinatra in 1946, reaching #8 on Billboard.

I identify with this song because it well-covered my life from birth to death.  The same metaphor is used by Sinatra in his 1965 album, September of My Years, featuring It Was a Very Good Year.  Of course, being born in September had a lot to do with my selection.  The final line is, these precious days I'd spend with you.

Here is a neat juke box by year, from 1951 to 2015.  1951 has 30 songs, and I know them all.  2015 has a 100, and I'm familiar with at least one, and, maybe only that.

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