SUDDENLY EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT
Or: How do you describe a glass?
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[You can find the Zalto glass HERE in our shop]
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Yes, the price is steep, no question about it.
And this question is also allowed: Can glasses really be worth that much?
Our answer is surprisingly clear:
Yes.
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That’s where the difficulties begin, because even trying to describe a normal wine glass is quite challenging:
All wine glasses have a bowl, stem, and foot and are made 100% of glass, making them largely indistinguishable – differences usually lie in the finest nuances.
So how do you describe a wine glass that fits within these parameters but is fundamentally different from all the others?
It would be easy to say that Zalto glasses are light – especially in relation to their impressive size.
But how does it feel, this delicate web, this inverted cathedral made of glass?
How do you describe that despite all its thin-walled elegance, it feels incredibly springy, sturdy, and generous?
How it turns and moves, and how gently you handle it almost instinctively?
How do you describe the amazement when after a few weeks of use you notice that the entire glass body is distortion-free transparent except for fine contour lines and light reflections, and hardly reflects at all?
And why hadn’t you noticed this much earlier?
Or the contemplative moment on a mild afternoon on the shady balcony:
The back of your fingernail on the rim doesn’t produce the expected clear bell-like tone, but an oddly brittle click.
Upon closer inspection, the glass reveals its most subtle nuance yet:
The golden, slowly vibrating tone of the bowl, audible only right next to the ear, which gradually fades in waves and lingers as goosebumps on the neck.
The whole glass visibly vibrates – a nerve-wracking observation given its thin walls and price:
And yet the glass itself is so plain and sober.
The lines connect the bowl with the stem and foot as straightforwardly as calmly.
But also – and this is what makes the glass so special again – without any compromise: lines and proportions are balanced, precise, and pointed.
And so you get to know it gradually, this most special of all glasses.
You learn to see the nuances and details you couldn’t see before.
And you don’t want to be without it anymore.
But you don’t want a 12-piece set. And not every day either.
Instead, 2 glasses. For yourself and your loved one.
To occasionally toast to yourself, your life together, and your child.
That’s what a glass like this is.
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"USE THE GOOD GLASSES"
Zalto glasses are anything but everyday items.
We actually only use these glasses when there is a special moment to celebrate, just like our grandmother always brought out the "good" porcelain on special occasions.
Our favorite is the universal glass because it is the most radical and fully lives up to its name:
Whether it’s good whiskey, Crémant, cheerful colorful and bling-bling cocktails, an aperitif on ice in summer, or classic special wine with a meal – the glass is every time a subtle sensory spectacle and makes both the moment and the drink extra special.
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One thing upfront: Zalto glasses MUST be carefully polished after washing – you simply can’t tolerate a Zalto glass with water spots.
If you commit to this process, what might have been a tedious chore becomes a truly enriching ritual, because polishing the glasses is simply a lot of fun:
Maybe because polishing lets you discover another aspect of the glass for which we don’t yet have words. Maybe it lets you relive the previous moment. Or maybe we’re just very receptive to beautiful rituals.
Whatever the case: We have definitely discovered the careful care after drinking as a consistently pleasant and relevant part of the product for us.
And finally, the official Zalto video, where you can nicely see the manufacturing process:
FAVORITES, THROUGH AND THROUGH.
