THE LUXURY crystal wineware of Thai-owned Lucaris was last month again named the official wineglass of Vinexpo Hong Kong.
The top wine-and-spirits trade show in the region since 1981 saw fairgoers sampling wines from Lucaris stemware and also attending a master class in making the glasses, led by the brand’s design team.
“Lucaris is the only world-class, Asian-made crystal-glass producer that’s maintained this sponsorship,” said Silparat Watthanakasetr, deputy managing director of Ocean Glass Thailand, which makes the stemware.
“With wine consumption continuing to grow dramatically in Asia, Vinexpo Hong Kong is a must-attend event for importers, distributors and sommeliers. Lucaris crystal, which utilises the latest technology from Germany and Japan, is excellent in quality and design – and therefore a matter of great pride for Asia.”
Since its debut in 2009, Lucaris has taken on the long-established crystal-glassware brands, Silparat said.
“We’ve consistently made big investments to elevate our premium wineware to compete on the global stage, and meanwhile we also strive to increase our potential to respond to Asians’ changing lifestyles and palates. Mostly we want to deliver a world-class wine-drinking experience through our unrivalled lead-free, barium-free crystal glass, in which eastern expertise meets western know-how.”
The design of Lucaris stemware and wine accessories is a collaborative effort among Ocean Glass, Toyo-Sasaki Glass and Martin Ballendat of Germany. Their combined knowledge and skills have resulted in crystal glasses that are lead-free and yet share the same physical aesthetics as conventional lead-based crystal.
The key innovation is Aerlumer, the patented engraving of four curled lines at the base of the bowl, which encourages micro-oxidation and softens the wine as it’s swirled in the glass. The etching is intentionally subtle to avoid hampering assessment of the wine’s colour.
In Hong Kong, award-winning sommelier Sam Chong, a member of the design team, showed off the “master’s choice” collection, Desire, as part of a presentation called “The Unprecedented Glass Tasting Experience”.
“If you look at the appearance of all six glasses in the Desire collection, they don’t seem to even come from the same collection,” Chong said. “Desire is all about the functionality of the glasses, so we don’t care too much if they all look the same or be the same height. We want to ensure they have the best tasting effect.”
The Desire Sparkling glass is a flute with a flared mouth and the Aerlumer at the bottom.
“The optimal height of the glass allows bubbles to be released and softens punchy, spicy agents in the wine, while the flaring mouth fans the wine out to the sides of the tongue, bringing out the forward-fruitiness of the wine.”
Sparkling wine can be enjoyed as is or with extra fragrance if you activate the Aerlumer with a gentle swirl of the glass.
The are separate Desire glasses for white and red wine. Robust Red and Elegant Red are crafted to cover all the wine’s personal traits.
For the robustness of a young, full-bodied red, the glass has an oversized bowl as well as the Aerlumer to maximise surface space and aeration. The taller bowl softens the sharpness of the wine, making it subtler and more aromatic.
For aged and elegant wine, though, the glass needs to be shorter and flatter, allowing the nose to get closer to the wine to pick up the real notes of the aroma.
Full-bodied, creamy white is a good match for the Desire Rich White glass, with its larger but shorter bowl and Aerlumer. It encourages oxidation and enhances the bouquet.
“And Desire Crisp White, with its optimal height and smaller bowl, is designed for young, fresh wines, where the notes of green herbs are accentuated and the pleasant acidity is retained in the bowl,” Chong explained.
Desire Universal is suitable for both reds and whites. The medium-size bowl and Aerlumer allow for thorough oxidation while softening and rounding out the wood tannins of young wine. A more elegant, older wine should be sipped without swirling, though, lest the wine’s unique characteristics be lost.
This source first appeared on The Nation Life.