A few years ago the Zalto wine glass took the wine world by storm. These high-end crystal wine glasses, handblown in Austria, have ultra-thin bowls and are heralded by wine enthusiasts and magazines as vessels that actually make your wine smell and taste better. In today’s blog, we share the various styles of Zalto wine glasses and also compare Zalto glasses with our other favorite luxury crystal wine glasses.
Before we continue with our reviews and recommendations, though, a little about the KnowWines blog. We’re an Amazon.com affiliate and we do receive a small commission if you purchase items through our affiliate links at no cost to you. The commissions help us pay for web hosting fees, our podcast, products to test, and other costs associated with running this site. Thank you for using our affiliate links and supporting this independent blog!
What Are Zalto Wine Glasses?
The Zalto Story
Zalto wine glasses were developed by Hans Denk, a famous wine expert in Austria. These finely crafted wine glasses are crystal, lead-free, and handblown.
The story goes that the angles of Zalto wine glasses mirror the angles of the tilt angles of the earth: 24 degrees, 48 degrees, and 72 degrees. The concept of tilt angles, which supposedly improve taste, is not unique to Zalto - apparently, the Romans used a similar approach when building storage containers.
Here’s the classic Zalto Denk’Art Universal Glass:
Handblown Glass
Essentially, Zalto wine glasses are made one at a time - a unique feature in any modern product! The glass itself is comprised of three parts: the bowl, the stem, and the base. These three pieces are made individually and are then put together by the artisan glassmaker.
Here’s a video detailing Zalto’s process of handblowing their glasses:
Zalto’s Hometown in Austria
All Zalto wine glasses are made by the Zalto Glasshutte in the town of Neunagelberg, which is about two hours north and west of Vienna, Austria. Artisans have been making wine in this area since at least the 1300s.
Where to Buy Zalto Wine Glasses
Some independent wine stores (like Red Bank Wine in Wilmington, North Carolina) sell Zalto wine glasses. Your local wine retailer may have some on hand to try before committing to a glass. If your local wine shop does not have Zalto glasses, then check out the Zalto shop on Amazon (affiliate link) or Wine Enthusiast.
Wine Glass Styles
Zalto and Riedel (affiliate link) both have lines of glassware that are designed for specific wine styles. Below, we’ve shared the Zalto styles we’ve enjoyed.
Zalto Universal Wine Glass
Personally, we prefer Universal wine glass styles. If you select wine glasses that are specific to a certain type of wine, your cupboard can fill up pretty quickly, and not everyone has room for all those glasses! We particularly enjoy the Zalto Universal glass with robust wines like Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and the wines of Bordeaux.
Zalto Wine Glass Champagne
While it’s true that having too many types of wine glasses on hand can overwhelm your wine glass storage, it’s also true that you’ll never regret having great champagne glasses. Special events deserve bubbly, and bubbly tastes better from glasses like these:
Zalto Wine Glass Bordeaux
Here is Zalto’s beautifully shaped wine glass, specifically for Bordeaux:
Zalto Burgundy Wine Glass
And if Burgandy is your drink of choice, Zalto has a glass for that, too:
Zalto White Wine Glass
Now, on to the whites. You won’t regret sipping a crisp, cold white wine out of this glass on a warm day:
Zalto Sweet Wine Glass
If you really love your dessert wine, try the Zalto glass for sweet wine:
Zalto Beer Glass
Love the (or not so occasional) occasional beer? Or, have a partner who prefers beer over wine? Grab a duo of these beauties:
How To Care For Zalto Glasses
Zalto recommends using the dishwasher for cleaning its glassware. However, in our experience, there are a few extra steps you’ll want to consider when using the dishwasher. Consider doing the following:
Leave plenty of space between the Zalto glass and other items in the dishwasher.
Avoid phosphate-free dishwasher soap.
Use less dishwasher soap than usual, as excessive dishwasher soap may cause buildup on the glass, causing it to get hazy.
Don’t use a long steamer cycle after the washing.
We don’t know about you, but we’d prefer to wash the glasses by hand than to wash them again after a faulty dishwasher run.We clean our glassware with hot water, unscented dish detergent, and then dry and polish before storage with a wine glass polishing cloth.
Zalto Universal vs Gabriel Glas
And now for a comparison between two luxury crystal wine glass brands: Zalto and the Gabriel Glas Gold wine glasses we recently reviewed.
Both the Zalto and the Gabriel Glas Gold are luxury crystal wine glasses. The difference between the two is that the Gabriel Glas Gold glass is made as one piece, whereas the Zalto is constructed of three pieces.
KnowWines is a team of two. My husband loves the Zalto. However, I’m partial to Gabriel Glas Gold. When swirling the glass, I feel that the Zalto is a little clunkier, while the Gabriel Glas is more “fluid.”
Zalto glasses are heavier in the hand than the Gabriel Glas Gold. The weight and feel of the Zalto Universal wine glass is similar to the Gabriel Glas StandArt:
Do I Need a Zalto Universal Wine Glass?
No, you do not need a Zalto wine glass to enjoy wine. In fact, at KnowWines we reserve the use of these luxury wine glasses for wines at $30 and above. I’m not about to break these fine glasses on everyday-type wines (and if we’re on a boat or the back patio, we’ll even go for unbreakable wine glasses!).
Remember, too, that when you’re using luxury wine glasses like Zaltos, you need to plan to clean them carefully after use. I suspect that a number of these glasses are broken by folks trying to hurry through the cleaning process or they break the stem from the bowl by putting too much pressure and torque on the glass while quickly drying.
If you’re willing to put in the time and investment, these glasses can really be a joy to drink from!