How The Only Wine Glass You’ll Ever Need Was Made, as Told by Creator Richard Brendon
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Castbox
In theory, a glass’s purpose is simple: Hold the liquid of one’s choice until it’s ready to be drank. The experts will tell you there’s much more to it than that. For Richard Brendon and Jancis Robinson, they felt that a wine glass should bring out the best of the drink on behalf of the drinker in an elegant, uncomplicated manner. It had to be the right size, shape and material, and it had to be beautifully constructed.
While Jancis -- a Master of Wine, multiple James Beard Award-winner and adviser for Queen Elizabeth II’s cellar -- was able to bring unrivaled knowledge on how a glass can best suit the wine, it was Richard’s ability to turn this inspiration into reality that brought The Wine Glass into being.
Richard approaches design with a reverence for the past and focus on functionality that’s enabled him to strike the winning balance of modern and timeless throughout his pieces. It’s this instinct that led to a wine glass that’s already beloved by sommeliers and discerning at-home wine drinkers globally.
Richard Brendon: "I really decided my brand was going to be all about trying to regenerate heritage craft industries."
Alex Barinka: "Can you kind of talk through why that was so important to you? Because I do think a lot of people these days are so focused on creating something that's so new and so different than the past that sometimes they lose that reflectiveness of the beauty of what has been created in the past."
Richard Brendon: "If you don't understand what's come before, you might think you're doing something original, but there's a really good chance that someone's done it already."
"I personally believe the best form of sustainability is longevity. If you create products which are timeless and have longevity, well, people aren't going to want to throw them away in five years."
On this episode, host Alex Barinka wanted to started with Richard’s background, and how he smashed onto the luxury table and barware scene back when he was serving drinks in various pubs (and in sub-par glasses, no doubt) to make a living. He expanded his expertise from ceramics to glassware, including the brilliant cut-crystal Old Fashioned glasses sold on Verishop.
It was this foray into the glass medium that opened up the door for the eventual designing of The Wine Glass, and the choice to have each and every piece hand-made by glass-blowing artisans. Tune in to the episode to hear the intriguing process by which Richard Brendon’s products are made and how they can enhance your at-home entertaining, plus exclusive details on his partnership with Jancis Robinson.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Castbox.
Then shop the products discussed on the show:
Richard Brendon: "Jancis really talked me through what the perfect wine glass needed to do and, and how it should be shaped.
"She wanted the widest part of the bowl to be 125 milliliters, which is a sixth of a bottle, because that's a, a really nice standard sized pour of your sommelier pouring at a table if you've got a table of six people.
"She then wanted the glass to taper back in as much as it could, so that the opening was really nice and small and trapped the aromas. But the opening still needed to be large enough that anyone can fit their nose in the glass -- so even if you've got a big nose, you can still have a good sniff of the wine.
"And she really wanted the glasses to be absolutely as fine as possible so that you almost don't notice there's a glass there when you're drinking out of, which just makes the whole drinking experience so much more direct and you haven't got anything there distracting you from the wine."
Alex Barinka: "There is EVEN MORE that went into this vessel. Like why they made it fit into a dishwasher and that it takes multiple people to mouth-blow the glass. Y'all have to catch the full episode to hear how special The Wine Glass is."
Richard Brendon: "They've got this really kind of satisfying weight to them and the cup is nice and sharp, and it's got this kind of brilliant tactile quality to it."
"When you drink out of them, it's just unbelievably satisfying. I think it elevates a drink to a kind of another level of enjoyment. I'll finish the week and you know, busy week, on Friday evening having a gin and tonic or a whiskey out of a glass like that is just really satisfying."
Alex Barinka: "Let's get practical with these beauties. If these aren't a knock-your-socks-off, stunning gift (for someone else, or yourself), I don't know what is."
Alex Barinka: "Y'all will have to listen to the episode for a funny little tale about how Jancis and Richard had differing opinions on the stemless glasses. I'll give you a taste..."
Richard Brendon: "I probably shouldn't say this because chances are Jancis will know... I do drink wine out of the stainless glass. On occasion. Not all the time.
"Jancis agreed that we can say if you do put wine into that glass, it will be the best stemless wine glass on the market -- but she still doesn't necessarily approve of it."