© Riedel/Wine-Searcher

Always the real thing – only better – apparently

Just when you thought Riedel had produced every glass conceivable...

Have you ever, while sipping a Coca-Cola, thought, "I'm missing some of the nuances?" Are those notes of orange oil or lemon oil? Is that cinnamon, nutmeg or both?

Riedel is here to help. The company that manufactures slightly different glasses for riesling and sauvignon blanc, the better to appreciate their nuances, has stepped up for soda drinkers – but ONLY Coca-Cola drinkers.

Riedel has produced 80,000 Coca-Cola + Riedel glasses, which sell for $19.99 each or $29.99 for a two pack, which compares pretty unfavorably with the cost of the actual product in the glass – a two-liter bottle of Coke can sell for as little as $1.

The top of the stemless glass is the shape of Riedel's O-series Sauvignon Blanc glass, said Riedel spokesperson Kara Larmie. A thin waist opens to a small bottom section, giving the glass a look reminiscent of Coke's classic 6 1/2-ounce glass bottle.

"The taste comes from the way the rim and bowl are shaped," Larmie told Wine-Searcher. "The bottom of the glass doesn't affect it."

The glass is only available retail, and is not designed for teetotallers in restaurants, Larmie said. She denied that this new product was a sign that Riedel, which has dozens of different glasses, has at last saturated the wineglass market. "Business actually rose in the bad economy," she said.

"Georg Riedel said that working with Coca-Cola has always been a dream of his since he was a little boy," Larmie said.

And for the $29.99 question – can you drink Diet Coke from it? How about Pepsi?

"We do not recommend it for Diet Coke or other colas," Larmie said. "It wasn't designed for it."

Riedel has made water glasses before, but this is the first glass for a non-alcoholic beverage made via the company's typical variety-specific wine-glass design process.

The company is also branching out beyond wine and water, developing a range of glasses specifically designed for tea, despite the fact that an expert tea-tasting panel in London has already come up with the ideal tea glass. And what did they decide was the ideal container? The Riedel O-Series Cabernet glass.