Riedel Vinum Burgundy/Pinot Glasses, Set of 4 The Vinum collection from renowned Austrian glassmaker Riedel gives serious wine drinkers an extensive choice of moderately priced crystal, each glass designed especially to enhance a particular wine. The Burgundy glass is large and rounded to allow the bouquet of a red wine to flourish. Not just any red wine, but reds high in acidity with moderate tannin levels, such as Red Burgundy and Pinot Noir. The glass helps offset the acidity of the wine by directing it right to the zone on the tongue that registers sweetness. This set of four Vinum glasses will nicely augment an existing wine glass collection or start a budding oenophile on building one. Each beautifully balanced glass stands 8-1/4 inches tall and holds 24-3/4 ounces.

Though comprised of more than 24 percent lead crystal, which lends superb brilliance and clarity, Vinum glasses are affordable because they are machine-made. In fact, Vinum is the first machine-made line dedicated to Riedel’s philosophy of shaping and sizing a glass to suit the wine within. In addition to wine stems, the Vinum collection also includes cocktail glasses. While dishwasher-safe, Vinum crystal is best washed by hand to prevent detergent residue that can affect wine taste. –Ann Bieri

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The #1 Opera Album The labels that are now gathered under the Universal Classics umbrella have a pretty impressive scorecard in the area of classical compilations. We’ve seen The Greatest Opera Show on Earth, The Yellow Guide: Classical Music, Best of the Millennium, and now there’s The No. 1 Opera Album. But that’s no surprise, since Universal has some of the finest interpreters in its catalogue to draw from. This two-CD set (at the price of one), for example, brings together the likes of Cecilia Bartoli, Ren e Fleming, Luciano Pavarotti, Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Georg Solti, Herbert von Karajan, and many more. Yet the other key to a successful compilation is canny anthologizing, and here again, you have a nice selection to give you a smattering of opera’s heavyweights from the Italian, German, and French repertory (there’s even a step outside the standard framework with an aria from Dvor k’s lovely Rusalka). Ranging from 1959 to 1997, the choices from back catalogue will doubtless be the entry ticket for many into this grandest of the arts. –Sarah Chin
Customer Review: Terrific !
A diverse album to give you a sprinkle of the various types of ‘opera’. Every note is pure and lovely, I listen to it all the time ! Highly recommended for anyone just getting into opera. :}

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