On the Road with the Grape Guy
Unbiased New JosephinenHutte Glassware Review
24 Apr 2025- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
In late 2024, I was sent an email about a new stem coming to the Canadian market JosephinenHutte. From my reading, the glass falls somewhere in the Zalto line, is related to or is a distant cousin of (very unclear marketing, but in the same ballpark as this highly touted and beloved high-end glass). What the email really focused in on was the shape of the glass:
"After having conquered the glass shelves of wine enthusiasts and Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and the US, Josephinenhütte is proud to introduce its latest venture, the "Josephine" wine glass collection, designed by Kurt Josef Zalto, now available in Canada. This collection has garnered prestigious accolades for its innovative design, promising to elevate the wine experience to unprecedented heights." - see full release
Full disclosure: I am a huge glassware snob, as many I know will attest. I have been known to take my own on vacation. As it turns out, I also like an aesthetically pleasing glass: good stem, nice bowl, well balanced. I did not like the look of these new glasses. But I am a fan of getting an “elevated wine experience” through the technology of better glassware, even if the shape is not to my liking; because beyond the aesthetics in the end, I want my wine experience to be the best it can be, and up to my expectations. (As an aside, we can debate the glass style for sparkling wine another time – but I prefer something akin to a flute.)
But back to the job at hand. I am always about making my wine experience to be the best it can be, so I requested a glass to run it through its paces. They sent me four: red (Josephine No. 3), white (Josephine No. 1), universal (Josephine No. 2) and sparkling (Josephine No. 4). I unwrapped each, they come in their own individual box with tissue paper wrapping. They feel light and delicate, very similar to the feel of a Zalto stem. It’s a glass that, like Zalto, I am afraid will snap if I squeeze the stem too hard. I have yet to do it, but I’m also aware it might be an outcome.
For my tasting experiment, I also enlisted the help of another wine friend to keep me honest. I decided to pit the red wine glass against its universal counterpart, plus three other red wine glasses from different manufacturers, theses included an original Zalto, Lucaris Tokyo Temptation line and Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic line.
The wines I used were an array in red's – but only two with the whites (I will explain that choice below).
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The White Wine Glass Experience
I need to begin my white wine experiment by saying this: upon checking, the Josephinenhutte website (here) I found the four stem types are all they had - there was no glass specific for Burgundy wines (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir).
I have always maintained that for a good wine life, you require a good white wine glass and a good red wine glass – the only caveat is: if you drink enough Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to make it worth your while, a good Burgundy glass needs to also be acquired.
Since Josephinenhutte does not have one, I took it to mean their white wine glass was meant for Chardonnay as well as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and/or whatever else you want to put in it. The first two grapes mentioned on my list above are the ones I used for this experiment: one from Ontario, one from New Zealand. Both wines I know, from previously tastings, to be of a high quality, in this case Leaning Post 2021 Grimsby Hillside Chardonnay - Ontario, and Soho Winery 2023 Stella Sauv Blanc – New Zealand.
The white wine glass tasting was between the new Josephine No. 1 White, the Josephine No. 2 Universal, a Lucaris Toyko Temptation White (Chardonnay) and Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic Burgundy.
Sauvignon Blanc (Soho Winery)
In the picture, you'll notice the white and universal (middle two glasses) are pretty close in shape and size and produced very similar wine tasting results with the Sauvignon Blanc. The Lucaris white, far left showed the best, augmenting the grassy and tropical notes and putting the acidity where I expected it to be on my palate. The Schott Zwiesel Burgundy flattened the wine and made it, blasé. The two new Josephinen glasses did nothing to enhance my wine experience and in the case of the universal glass, muted the nose; which is hard to do with such an aromatic wine.
Chardonnay (Leaning Post)
Same order of glasses, I tasted in a right to left, then left to right order, giving everyone a chance to be first and last. The three white wine glasses gave me various versions of the same wine, none very appealing, none making me want to drink the wine more than the initial sip. The Burgundy glass enhanced the flavor of the wine in all the right places. Plus, it made for a very fun and pleasing tasting experience.
The Outcome
Chardonnay is one, if not the most popular wine in the world – and Sauvignon Blanc is one of the world's leading white wines among consumers. Neither grape’s wine showed better in the new Josephinenhutte glasses. I find this head scratching – when you take two of the world's most popular white wine varieties and your glass does not enhance the experience for either, what's the point? I also know that Pinot Gris should have been included on my list of wines to experiment with. But, 1) I did not have any on hand; and 2), most Pinot Gris drinkers don’t need a high-end glass like this – they’d happily drink that wine out of a Dixie Cup if necessary. If you feel like I have disrespected Pinot Gris drinkers, apologies; but it still remains one of the most boring and blasé grapes in the world and it really is hard to jazz it up. A glass of this caliber will not enhance Pinot Gris; and if it does, it was the only wine it would.
Bottom line: Don't waste your money.
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The Red Wine Glass Experience
Once again, I used a variety of glasses here, all meant for red wines. I started with four, but ended up adding a fifth for good measure. The glasses used, from right to left: Zalto Bordeaux, Josephine No. 3 Red, Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic Bordeaux, Lucaris Tokyo Temptation Bordeaux, Josephine No. 2 Universal.
Five wines saw the bottom of these glasses, a Dominique Piron La Chanaise - Morgon (Beaujolais), Deep Woods 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon - Margaret River (Australian), Olivier & Lafont 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape (Rhone Valley), Robert Mondavi 2015 The Reserve - To Kolon Cabernet Sauvignon (California), and a Chateau Clou du Pin Bordeaux Superior.
In the first glass tasting (minus the Schott Zwiesel) the Josephine held its own: a close second to the original Zalto. But then I added the Schott Zwiesel to the mix. The Zalto came second with the Josephine third time-after-time-after-time. The universal glass never ended up in the top three.
Bottom line: The red wine was a better battle for supremacy than the white wine battle. Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder. Some may find these new Josephinenhutte glasses appealing to the eye. If you've held a Zalto stem before, you have the same light-weight, delicate feel in the new Josephine line. Did its promise of a better wine experience come to fruition? No. Was I impressed with any of the glasses? Maybe the red will do in a pinch, but the white wine glass didn't do justice to any of the wines we put in it. And the Universal was universally good for nothing. For the price of these glasses, I expect more. In this head-to-head, it’s a big thumbs down for me.
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The Aftermath
After I wrote the above review, I decided to try the glasses on their own. No comparing them, just as my standard glass for a few months. Look, are these a bad glass, absolutely not. If you get them as a gift, or buy them yourself, you'll have an elegant crystal stem that will be a talking piece for your friends, or something you can laud over them (they are after all $140 a stem here in Canada – comparison pricing below). The wines taste good in them, though. I still say the white wine glass leaves a little to be desired. They function as they should, and if you have no other comparable, fill your boots. But when given a choice, when put head-to-head against the competition, even a Zalto, they fall short.
I am writing this drinking a 2017 Two Hands Angels Share Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia - it tastes lovely. Do I know I have a better glass in the house? Yes. Do I want to dirty another glass for a 10% better glass of wine? No. I'm lazy and I will admit it. I'm not telling you not to buy them; I'm just saying there are better or even comparable, for less. But if you can afford them … be my guest.
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Disclaimers: I was not compensated for this review it was done of my own volition. The company did send me glasses upon my request; but only after they had sent me a request to try them. I tasted the wines along with a colleague, who, for the most part, agreed with my assessment - although she did find the glass more aesthetically appealing than I did, and enjoyed the wines a little better - bumping the Josephine No. 3 glass to second place in her tastings of the red wines; over the original Zalto. We were both in agreement when it came to the bottom line of tasting and price versus experience.
I have not tried the No. 4 glass yet - it is for Champagne / bubbles.
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Glass Price Comparisons (CDN dollars):
Josephine line of glasses: $140 per stem
Lucaris Tokyo Temptation line (Chardonnay and Bordeaux): $44.99 / box of 4
Schott Zwiesel stems: (Cru Classic is no more but comparative glasses Forte or Classico) range from $78.00 - $84.00 / box of 6
Zalto Bordeaux - $105 per stem
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Thank you to Ofelia Bartolucci for her insight and thoughts during this tasting.
