Claus Josef Riedel, Wine Glass Expert, Dies at 79

Wine glass innovator Josef Riedel died last week of a heart attack in Italy. If you've never heard or used a Riedel (pronounced like 'needle') wine stem you are likely missing out on truly tasting the full flavor experience of any wine you drink.

Josef Riedel spent 16 years studying the physics of wine delivery to the mouth and taste buds and experimenting with different glass configurations, matching them with wines of different regions, different grapes and different ages. The lines of Riedel stemware he created from this research have become legendary in the wine industry.