Established in Bohemia in 1756, Riedel is a glassware manufacturer now based in Kufstein, Austria, known predominantly for its work developing glassware that caters for different types of wines. The Riedel family and their commitment to glass as a material can be traced back 250 years - to May 17th 1756, when Johann Leopold established the family's entrepreneurial tradition.
The Riedel name became renowned in the glass making world and the family, through several generations, were able to build something of an empire. Production primarily consisted of jewellery and small glassware, but the company expanded to include textiles and a spa as part of its portfolio, and even implemented a private phone line and a branch line from the nearby train station to ease the manufacturing process.
Over the centuries the glass makers experienced various periods of success, with some troubled times intermittently, but it wasn’t until 1961 that Riedel began to create the kind of glasses that modern consumers would recognise them for today. Claus Riedel presented the new style of Riedel wine glass: one designed to underline the individual character of a wine.
The mouth-blown Sommeliers line followed in 1973, a revolutionary move that saw the creation of the world’s first gourmet glass series, which were developed with the help of the Association of Italian Sommeliers. It is regarded as the most successful series of hand-made glasses in the world, and not only earned countless international awards, but irrevocably altered wine culture itself.
Riedel followed this in 1986 with the Vinum line, which was made up of functional wine glasses that were crafted using mechanized production, offering an affordable alternative for wine lovers.
Today, the enterprise is run by Georg and Maximilian Riedel, the tenth and eleventh generations of the family. They continue to create glassware the Riedel way, combining the glassworking tradition of the Bohemian Forest with modern industrial manufacturing and an unconventional approach. The result is a stunning range of premium glasses, including examples such as the Riedel Vinum Oaked Chardonnay Glasses, Riedel Wine Tumbler and our very own Master of Malt Riedel Tumbler.