Riedel
An almost 300-year glassware manufacturer, Riedel is an eleventh generation family-owned business based in Kufstein, Austria, and known for its functional and high-quality glassware designs specialty made to enhance different types of wines. Today, it’s the oldest family-owned and operated global crystal glass brand worldwide. Browse their collection of award-winning wine glasses, decanters, whiskey glasses, and more.
Born in 1673, Johann Cristoph (1st generation) was the first Riedel in the trade of luxury glass. He lived in Pavlovice (northwest Bohemia), near Haida and Steinschonau, which would become the world centers of trade for Bohemian crystal glass in the early 18th century. He journeyed all over Europe trading glass, earning enough to justify the long, arduous, and dangerous travels.
In 1766, Riedel’s grandson, Johann Leopold Riedel (3rd generation), took over management of the glassworks and laid the foundations of the Riedel Glass Empire in Northern Bohemia. His fortune was made during the Seven Year War between the Austrians and Prussians over the territories of Bohemia and Silesia. After the war, there was a high demand for window panes to start rebuilding and Riedel was the first to produce window panes in the Jizera Mountain region. His son, Anton Leopold Riedel (4th generation), would go on to produce crystal and hollow, colored glass, perfume bottles, chandelier parts, and some of the first glass costume jewelry would be made by Riedel.
Decades later, Walter Riedel (8th generation) joined the family business, which had become known as a leading manufacturer of glass jewelry, crystalware, seed beads, lamps, technical glass, and luxury glass. Walter was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Exhibition of Paris in 1925 and later the World Fair in Paris in 1937. During this time Bohemia had become part of Czechoslovakia.
But World War Two had a devastating effect on the Riedel family. By the end of the war in 1945, the Riedels had had their home and factories confiscated by the Czechoslovakians. Having lost everything, Walter and his son Claus Josef started new in Kufstein, Austria with the help of some close friends. They took over a glassworks and started producing mouth-blown products in 1956.
Claus would prove to be a visionary and changed stemware forever when he discovered the effect of shapes on the perception of alcoholic beverages. He revolutionized the world of glassware when he designed the first collection of wine-friendly stemware in 1974. This masterpiece series Sommeliers set a precedent for the future of glass design.
Georg J. Riedel (10th generation) would evolve his father’s research and introduce Riedel Sensory Workshops as a method of testing and refining their products with the aid of master sommeliers and winemakers. In 1986, he introduced the world’s first collection of grape varietal specific glassware that worked with the wine’s DNA to show more depth and balance.
In 2013, Maximilian Riedel (11th generation) took over as CEO and President of Riedel Crystal. From the introduction of the revolutionary stemless O Series to his original collection series of decanters, Maximilian strives to build on the legacy of his family by continuing to evolve the brand and lead the charge on modern, functional glassware.