Zalto Glasperfektion
Technical perfection is the basic principle of the Zalto Glass Manufactury. Zalto Glasses have always been produced following a tradition of using only the most highly skilled glass-blowers working with a selection of the best raw materials. This tradition, and the resulting fineness of each glass, echoes the delicate virtuosity of the great Venetian glass artists of the Renaissance. The development of the Zalto Denk`Art glasses is influenced by the capacious knowledge of the priest Hans Denk, who has spent decades in the study and tasting of wines, and is one of the most valued and inspirational wine experts in Austria. With the brand Denk`Art we pay homage to the mentor of these remarkable glasses. “Clear supremacy of the development of taste and bouquet,” as Father Denk himself has put it, are the advantages of the series Denk`Art; a fact which has been attested to by well-known sommeliers and wine connoisseurs around the world. In the northern part of Lower-Austria the tradition of glass blowing goes back to the early 14th century. The Zalto family, a glassmaking dynasty whose roots reach back to Venice, settled down in this region six generations ago. Since then Zalto has been producing high quality hand-blown glass in Neunagelberg. You can watch a great video of Zalto Glass production on Vimeo.
Most of the year I write about what to serve and drink but during this festive season I’d like to focus on what to serve and drink wine from……. Riedel no longer has the wine glass market to himself and an increasing proportion of the newer wine glasses have an angle in them rather than being gently bulbous – presumably to maximise the surface area of an ideal serving. The glasses that have most impressed me recently, from Zalto, conform to this rather Scandinavian shape and are the thinnest and most delicate I have come across, yet seem springy and almost elastic in the hand. The Zaltos were originally Venetian but the glasses are made in northern Austria and over the border in the Czech Republic. Best of all, the manufacturers say they are best washed in a regular dishwasher. At £26 for one of the “Universal” model...they are not cheap but they are cheaper than many of Riedel’s top models and would give any serious wine lover a real thrill over the closeness of contact they offer……. Jancis Robinson MW OBE - www.JancisRobinson.com
