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Wine needs to breath. Simply opening a bottle can start the process, but there is so little room in the neck of a bottle that not enough air contacts the wine directly. Pouring the wine into glasses gives more contact and using a decanter has been the best option. But now there is such a thing as breathable glass. What will they think of next?

Gore-Tex® breathable fabric, breathable plastic contact lenses, why not glass? Eisch Glaskultur of Germany has worked with scientists to actually "change the molecular structure in the glass" to allow it to breath. What this means to the average consumer is they can pop open a bottle of their favorite wine at a moment’s notice and enjoy the full flavor without having to let it breath for an hour or two (depending on the wine, of course). A breathable glass can aerate wine in just 2-4 minutes.

Aerating wine helps mellow the tannin and alcohol in wine, allowing the fruit to come forward both in the nose and mouth. Primarily true for reds, aerating also helps whites to mellow out wood notes and dissipate acidic qualities. Champagne flutes were designed to preserve the bubbles, but some of the fruit flavor is lost due to the narrow shape. With the breathable flute, bubbles are still preserved, yet the fruit is allowed to shine.

Skeptics will wonder if the glass has been treated in some way that will change a wine’s character (the glass has been tested and the answer is no) or if winemakers will feel that it alters the wine they intended to make. Considering the wineries that have purchased breathable glasses, it seems safe to say they are not concerned:

Barnard Griffin
Basel Cellars Estate Winery
Bookwalter Winery
Columbia Crest Winery
Columbia Winery
Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
Gordon Brothers Winery
Kestrel Vintners
Sagelands Vineyard
Snoqualmie Winery
Three Rivers Winery
Tsillan Cellars
Walter Dacon Winery

And these are just the Washington wineries!

Ronn Weigand, publisher of Restaurant Wine magazine and a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, has jumped on the bandwagon saying "These are truly amazing, they work! I’ve tried hundreds of wines on them…It changes how the wine tastes in a positive way by pushing the fruit forward on the palate and polishing the flavors in the wine…A real advancement in glass science, I was especially impressed…" Dan Berger, author and syndicated columnist for Decanter, Robb Report and Beverage Dynamics magazines says "…the breathable stems proved worthy. We tasted a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that were clearly improved by the breathable glass over the non-breathable." The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley is now using the breathable glasses in the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant, the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies and in the Special Events and Continuing Education department.

In addition to wineries and wine experts, several local restaurants are giving the glasses a go. Trellis at the Heathman Hotel in Kirkland and Place Pigalle at Pike Place Market have purchased champagne flutes. El Gaucho and Waterfront Seafood Grill (Mackay restaurants) have bought a small number of glasses to try. The Columbia Tower has also purchased glasses.

Whether a restaurant, winery, retail outlet or average Joe, you can get the glasses from Mercer Imports. Mike Mercer has a 30-year career going in the wine industry and currently works for Jackson Family Estates of Kendall Jackson fame. On a business trip to Hawaii in 2006, one of his distributors told him about Eisch breathable glasses. He brought samples home and he and wife Cathy tested them out and became believers. Cathy was looking for a new challenge and Mercer Imports was born. She began as the direct importer and wholesaler of the glasses for the Pacific Northwest, but her websites (one for wholesale, one for retail) have caught the eye of people across the U.S. She often refers people/businesses to distributors in their area, but for those in small towns with less access to the distributors or retail outlets, she will fill their orders.

Photo: Cathy Mercer of Mercer Imports

People love the idea of the glasses. "We had a booth at Washington Wine Highway in May," says Cathy. "On Saturday, we sold all the glasses we had. We brought more in on Sunday and ultimately sold over 200 glasses." Mercer Imports carries Eisch glasses from Vino Nobile (value priced) to Superior (all one piece). All are lead-free and dishwasher safe. Lines include different shapes for different wine varietals. She also carries decanters that won’t drip, saving your tablecloth. "The decanters really work. The edges are angled perfectly, and there is also a permanent coating on the rim that the wine clings to," explains Cathy. The decanters are not breathable.

Three hundred years of glass blowing is behind Eisch Glaskultur, starting with a family member working at a small glassworks in 1689. In 1914, Valentin Eisch worked as a master engraver at a crystal glass factory. In 1946, he started his own refining company. Fearing competition, other factories made sure Eisch didn’t receive delivery of raw glass and he was forced to create his own glass production. The first glass was melted in 1952. The third generation of the family runs the factory today.

You won’t have to struggle to get your glass: simply check out the Mercer Imports website or head to one of the listed retail outlets. For us, enjoying wine just gets easier and easier!

Connie Adams/July 2008

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