Riedel Restaurant Veritas Syrah (Old World) Glasses (6 Pack)
Riedel Restaurant Veritas Syrah (Old World) Glasses (6 Pack)
Trade Customers Only
This product is available exclusively to approved Trade customers.
Riedel Restaurant Veritas Old World Syrah Red Wine Glass
The Riedel Restaurant Veritas Old World Syrah glass (0449/41) is a varietal-specific design built around one of the most distinctive structural profiles in red wine: the combination of intense dark fruit and firm, grippy tannin that defines Syrah from the northern Rhone and the broad family of structured, tannic reds that share its character. Timeless and elegant, it is fine-blown and lightweight, executed in sparkling crystal with perfect balance in hand, and based on Riedel's iconic Grape Varietal Specific bowls.
The 625ml bowl with its narrower 96mm diameter focuses and concentrates the aromatics of Old World Syrah, directing the wine's delivery to highlight tannin as a structural element in balance with intense blackberry and dark fruit flavours, rather than allowing either to overwhelm the other. The result is a glass that presents Cote Rotie, Hermitage, Cornas, and their Rhone neighbours at their most complete and well-defined. The same bowl geometry extends this benefit across a remarkably wide range of structured red styles: Rioja and Ribera del Duero, Sangiovese in all its expressions from Chianti Classico to Brunello, Aglianico, Amarone, Blaufrankisch, Touriga Nacional, Mourvedre, and many others. For operations with broad red wine lists, the 0449/41 is one of the most versatile glasses in the Veritas range. Fine-blown from lead-free crystal and certified for 1,500 commercial dishwasher cycles, Restaurant Veritas delivers the performance of the consumer Veritas range at a commercial durability standard.
Key features of the Riedel Restaurant Veritas Old World Syrah glass:
- Tannin-highlighting bowl geometry: Focuses the wine's delivery to present tannin as a structural element in balance with intense dark fruit, creating a complete and well-defined impression rather than allowing grip or fruit concentration to dominate
- Narrower 96mm diameter: More focused than the Pinot Noir bowl, concentrating and intensifying the darker, spicier aromatic profile characteristic of Old World Syrah and the many structured red styles recommended for this glass
- 625ml capacity: Generous volume for aromatics to develop in the bowl, giving complex, concentrated red wines the headspace they need without the excessive size of a full Burgundy or Cabernet bowl
- Exceptional versatility: One of the broadest recommendation lists in the Veritas range, covering Old World Syrah and Rhone appellations alongside Rioja, Sangiovese, Aglianico, Amarone, Blaufrankisch, Grenache, Mourvedre, Touriga Nacional, Pinotage, Zweigelt, and many others
- Fine-blown lead-free crystal: Timeless elegance and perfect balance in hand, achieving the refined feel of handmade stemware with machine-made precision and commercial consistency
- 1,500-cycle commercial certification: EN 12875-1/2 certified, 50% more durable than the standard Restaurant range, corresponding to 10+ years of typical restaurant service life
- Trade-only set of 6: Exclusively available to hospitality operations including bars, restaurants, hotels, and catering businesses
This glass is the natural choice for restaurants, wine bars, and hotels with serious Rhone, Italian, or Spanish programmes, and for any operation where structured, tannic red wines from southern Europe and beyond represent a significant part of the list. The Veritas collection is available exclusively to trade customers.
What Hospitality Professionals Ask About This Glass
What does highlighting tannins actually mean in a glass design?
It does not mean making the wine taste more grippy or astringent. It means the bowl geometry presents tannin as a structural element in balance with the wine's fruit, rather than allowing one to overwhelm the other. Old World Syrah has both: intense, concentrated blackberry and dark fruit on one side, and firm, well-defined tannin on the other. In the wrong glass, either the fruit concentration makes the wine seem heavy and undifferentiated, or the tannin dominates and the wine reads as hard and dry. The 0449/41's focused bowl with its narrower 96mm diameter channels the wine in a way that keeps both elements simultaneously perceptible, creating the impression of structure and fruit in balance, which is what great northern Rhone Syrah is actually about.
Why does this glass cover such a wide range of varieties and regions?
The 0449/41 is designed around a structural profile rather than a single grape variety: concentrated dark fruit with genuine tannin backbone. That profile is shared by a large family of Mediterranean and southern European reds regardless of their specific grape or appellation. Tempranillo in Rioja and Ribera del Duero, Sangiovese in Chianti Classico and Vino Nobile, Aglianico in Taurasi, Mourvedre in Bandol, Touriga Nacional in the Douro, and Blaufrankisch in Burgenland all have the same fundamental character that the 0449/41 is built to handle. For operations running broad European red lists, this makes the Syrah glass a genuinely multi-functional tool rather than a single-purpose niche item.
Is this the right glass for both Cote Rotie and Chateauneuf-du-Pape?
Yes. Northern Rhone appellations like Cote Rotie, Hermitage, and Cornas are 100% Syrah and represent the primary inspiration for the glass design. Southern Rhone blends, including Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and Vacqueyras, are predominantly Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre, and share the same concentrated dark fruit and structured tannic character that the 0449/41 handles well. The bowl geometry benefits the whole Rhone canon. For operations with serious Rhone programmes, one shape covers the entire region correctly.
Is this glass suitable for Amarone?
Yes, Amarone della Valpolicella is on the primary recommendation list. Amarone is a wine of enormous concentration, significant alcohol, and formidable tannin structure. In too large or too open a glass, the alcohol and concentration can dominate and make the wine feel heavy. The 0449/41's focused bowl channels that intensity whilst keeping the dark cherry, dried fruit, and chocolate aromatics at the centre of the experience, presenting the wine in balance rather than as an exercise in power. Valpolicella Classico and Ripasso, being lighter expressions of the same blend, work in the same glass at standard pour sizes.
How many dishwasher cycles are these glasses certified for?
Riedel Restaurant Veritas glasses are independently certified to EN 12875-1/2 standards for 1,500 commercial dishwasher cycles with no visible deterioration. This is 50% greater durability than the standard Restaurant range and corresponds to 10+ years of normal restaurant service life.
One Glass for Your Whole Southern European Red List
Most operations running a serious European red wine programme face a practical tension: varietal-specific glassware is better for the wine, but stocking a different glass for every style on the list is operationally unrealistic. The Riedel Restaurant Veritas Old World Syrah glass offers a resolution to that tension that is unusually effective in practice.
The 0449/41's recommendation list is the longest in the Veritas range for good reason. The structural profile it is designed to serve, concentrated dark fruit with genuine tannin backbone, is shared by an enormous proportion of the serious red wines produced in southern and central Europe. A Rioja Gran Reserva, a Brunello di Montalcino, a Taurasi, a Bandol, a Douro red, an Amarone: these wines come from different grapes and different countries, but they all belong to the same family in terms of what they ask of a glass. The 0449/41 serves all of them well.
For a restaurant with Rhone wines as the centrepiece of its red list, this glass is the obvious and correct choice from Cote Rotie through to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. For a wine bar with a pan-European list, it can credibly handle the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Austrian sections of the list alongside the French. For a hotel operation that needs to manage glass inventory efficiently while still serving structured reds in appropriate stemware, it offers the best trade-off between specificity and versatility available in the Veritas range.
The narrower diameter relative to the Pinot Noir bowl is deliberate and significant. Old World Syrah and its structural relatives are not wines that need the broadest possible opening to reveal their aromatics. They are wines that benefit from a focused delivery: one that concentrates and intensifies rather than diffuses, and that presents the tannin framework as an asset rather than a problem.
Full Recommended Wine List
The 0449/41 is recommended for the following grape varieties and appellations: Aglianico, Amarone, Barbera, Blaufrankisch, Bobal, Bonarda, Cahors, Cannonau, Carignan, Chateauneuf-du-Pape (rouge), Cinsault, Cornas, Cote Rotie, Cotes du Rhone Rouge, Cotes du Roussillon, Cotes du Ventoux, Crianza, Crozes-Hermitage, Graciano, Gran Reserva, Grenache / Garnacha, Hermitage (rouge), Lagrein, Montsant, Mourvedre, Norton, Petite Sirah, Pinotage, Priorat, Refosco, Ribera del Duero, Rioja, Sangiovese, Saperavi, St. Joseph (red), St. Laurent, Old World Syrah, Tempranillo, Teroldego, Tinta de Toro, Tinto Reserva, Touriga Nacional, Valpolicella, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Zweigelt.
Specifications
Care & Use Instructions
Commercial Dishwasher Use: Veritas glasses are certified for 1,500 commercial dishwasher cycles under EN 12875-1/2. The 96mm diameter fits standard commercial dishwasher racks comfortably. Use standard commercial cycles with professional-grade detergent. Remove promptly after each cycle and allow to air dry to prevent water spotting on the crystal.
Serving Temperature: Old World Syrah and northern Rhone reds serve best at 16-18°C. Southern Rhone blends and fuller-bodied styles such as Amarone can be served at the warmer end of that range. Tannin in structured reds becomes more pronounced at cooler temperatures; avoid serving below 15°C or the wine will read as harder and more austere than intended.
Pour Size: Pour 125-150ml, filling the bowl roughly one quarter. The 625ml capacity provides generous headspace for aromatics to develop at a standard service pour. For high-alcohol wines such as Amarone or Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a slightly smaller 100-125ml pour is appropriate.
Decanting: Young structured reds with firm tannin, particularly Hermitage, Cornas, Taurasi, and young Brunello, benefit from decanting before service. The act of decanting aerates the wine and begins the softening process that would otherwise take years in bottle. The 0449/41's bowl also provides aeration as the wine is poured and swirled, so the glass itself contributes to opening the wine during service.
Handling: Fine-blown crystal is lighter and more refined than standard commercial stemware. Hold by the stem or base. The construction is certified for commercial use but benefits from careful handling during racking, polishing, and service.
Storage: Store upright with adequate height clearance for 235mm. Never stack or store rim-down. Rack individually in standard commercial glass racks.
Why Buy From The Riedel Shop?
As specialist Riedel retailers, we understand that glassware decisions for a serious red wine programme are not straightforward, particularly when that list spans multiple regions and grape varieties. The Old World Syrah glass is one of the most practically useful shapes in the Veritas range, and we can help you understand how it fits into your glass inventory alongside other Veritas shapes. The Restaurant Veritas collection is available exclusively to trade customers, and we provide the product knowledge and service standards that professional buyers expect.
Our Guarantees to You
- ✓ No Quibble Returns
- ✓ Half-Price Accidental Breakage Replacement (2 Years)
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does delivery take?
Standard delivery to mainland UK addresses typically takes 3-5 working days. For hospitality operations requiring urgent delivery, contact us to discuss expedited shipping options.
Can I return glasses if they don't suit our operation?
We offer a no quibble return guarantee on unopened sets in original packaging. We recommend ordering one set to trial with your wine programme before committing to larger quantities.
Should I use this glass or the Cabernet Sauvignon glass for Rioja?
Rioja appears on the Old World Syrah recommendation list rather than the Cabernet list. Tempranillo has a different structural profile to Cabernet Sauvignon: it tends toward dark cherry and leather rather than cassis and cedar, with tannins that are firm but typically more supple than Cabernet's. The focused bowl of the 0449/41 handles that profile better than the larger, more open Cabernet bowl. If your list features both serious Rioja and serious Cabernet, stocking both shapes is worthwhile. If Rioja is the dominant structured red on your list, the 0449/41 is the correct glass.
Can home users purchase Restaurant Veritas glasses?
No. The Restaurant Veritas collection is trade-only, available exclusively to bars, restaurants, hotels, and catering operations. Home users seeking the same varietal-specific shape should consider the consumer Riedel Veritas range, available without trade restrictions.
Do you offer volume discounts for larger groups?
For hospitality groups requiring multiple sets, typically 10 or more for venue refits or multi-site operations, contact us to discuss volume pricing and delivery arrangements.
What is the expected annual breakage rate?
Breakage rates typically run 10-13% annually with properly trained staff. The 96mm diameter and upright tulip form make this glass relatively straightforward to rack and handle during service. The fine-blown construction is certified for commercial use, and proper staff training around handling and storage is the most effective tool for managing breakage with fine crystal.
